Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant
by Z.R. Stein
Summary: Nowhere left to go. No place to hide. Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and a year old Harry Potter need an escape from the spider's web that Britain has become. Away from manipulative old men and corrupt governments, Death Eaters and Dark Lords. They never intended to land on the world of Remnant, but it may just be the perfect getaway. Begins pre both series. Faunus!Lupin.
1. Chapter 1: Escape from Britain

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant—A RWBY/Harry Potter crossover AU fic**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **This idea has been fermenting in my head for a while now, pretty much since I first noticed the dearth of really good RWBY/HP crossovers. The only one I've even moderately enjoyed was the fic 'Ruby Potter', which partially inspired this fic, and is worth a read if anyone is curious.**

* * *

 _Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. –Blake Belladonna_

. . .

Lily Potter knew that something was wrong.

She wasn't entirely sure how she knew, but she did. There was an elusive feeling at the back of her mind, a fleeting sensation that absolutely refused to be pinned down. It was…worrisome.

Not that she wasn't used to worrisome feelings. Her family was one of the prime targets for extermination by Voldemort, after all. Danger was an ever-present facet of her current life; even protected by the Fidelius charm, danger had never left, not really. It was simply kept at bay for a time.

This feeling though…it was new. Different. It was dangerous, yet not danger. Despite its intangible nature, it weighed heavily on Lily's mind, an oppressive yet invisible presence that dogged her thoughts.

If she had to put a name to it, she would have called it fate. The heavy hand of fate, standing over her, seemingly dissatisfied with her path.

Shaking her head, Lily forced herself to concentrate back on the task at hand, deciding to pin the feeling on being out and about for the first time in months. Dumbledore would probably be rather upset if he knew she was out shopping for a present to give to James for their upcoming anniversary, given that she wasn't sitting at the house with James and little Harry like she was supposed to. Lily, however, didn't plan on telling him about her excursions away from the tiny house in Godric's Hollow. Not after she'd spent the better part of a week creating an experimental portkey that was able to bypass the wards.

Lily privately grinned to herself. The old goat thought he was smart, setting up wardstones around the place that prevented the use of traditional magical transportation, but Lily wasn't known as the most intelligent British witch of her generation for nothing. Once she put her mind to something, there wasn't much that she couldn't do. This new variety of portkey, which she'd dubbed the jumpkey, teleported the holder by utilizing a much shorter magical wavelength than was typically used. The higher level of energy allowed the person holding the jumpkey to bypass all conventional wards and travel further distances at a greater speed, though the things could be a bit…quirky. Lily had accidentally travelled to China several times during the development of the keys, and even now, they often dropped her blocks away from her intended destination. Still, it was a small price to pay for freedom.

Lily shook her head again and continued her shopping trip through the Muggle shopping district of London, the streetlights illuminating her path. Having been born into a wealthy family in Wizarding Britain, James was rather apathetic to receiving magical gifts of any kind, having had access to such things his entire life. Conversely, Muggle gifts fascinated him—the most ordinary contraptions would entertain him for hours as he puzzled out how they worked. It was one part of his personality that she found absolutely endearing, especially now that he'd gotten over himself and his superiority complex.

Lily smiled as she looked at a newfangled digital wristwatch on display in one of the shops. It was the perfect gift for her husband. She handed the cashier a handful of pounds and exited the shop, only to freeze in place.

Not thirty feet away from her, a group of men and women passed by, most of them clearly drunk. They moved as one big group, singing and laughing, but what stood out was their clothing. All of them wore eclectic robes and other colorful garments that stood out like a sore thumb in downtown London.

Wizards and witches, parading around and enjoying the nightlife like they didn't have a care in the world. One of them threw an arm around a passerby and drunkenly slurred "Rejoice, dear brother Wuggle—err, Muggle. For we have achieved hickory!"

The witch to his left giggled and waved a hand in the air "No, no, its victory, you imbecile. Victory against the Dark Lord!"

The passerby, who looked distinctly uncomfortable at being manhandled by strange drunken people, cleared his throat and asked what any sensible person would "What Dark Lord? What are you talking about?"

The wizard who was holding him put a finger up to his unwilling companion's lips and shushed him loudly.

"We don't say his name, brother Muggle. But he's dead now. Dead 'n gone forever. An' all because of the Potters."

Lily's face, already white, paled even further.

"The Potters?"

"Oh yes, great heroes, terribly sad though. Apparently the boy survived, they say 'es the one that done it. Meant for great things, he is. But the parents…"

Another of the wizard interjected into the conversation, nodding solemnly while he did so.

"The father was clearly hit by the Killing Curse, but the mother…they say they weren't even able to find her body. Such a shame too…she was such a pretty thing."

The passerby shook himself free of the group of wizards, intent on escaping from these delusional drunkards. As he hurried away, he felt a crunch underneath his foot. Looking down, the man saw a wristwatch that someone had dropped, the glass face broken from him stepping on it. Frowning, the man hurried away, thinking to himself that today was a very odd day.

. . .

Lily landed nearly a kilometer away from Godric's Hollow, in a copse of trees that was hemmed in on all sides by houses. She took a moment to breathe, trying to understand what she'd just heard.

James was dead. Voldemort was dead. But her son was still alive.

Lily gritted her teeth and shoved her grief down. She couldn't afford to weak at a time like this. She had to get her son.

Casting a quick Disillusionment charm on herself, Lily set out down the street at a rapid clip, heading towards the cottage where she and James had lived for the past few months, only to stop once it came within view. The walls were scorched and blackened, as if there had been a fire, and Ministry officials swarmed in the area. Aurors and cursebreakers stood around the house, conversing in low tones. Lily's grip on her wand tightened until her knuckles turned white, and she crept closer, trying to find out what had occurred without being spotted.

A dark-skinned Auror stood next to an Indian woman that Lily assumed was his partner. They were frowning up at the house, clearly displeased about something. From the looks of their clothing, they were both foreign wizards.

"Something is off about this."

His partner nodded, her arms crossed.

"A child defeating the most feared Dark Lord of the century? Yes, I would agree with you there. Or are you talking about the fact that Lily Potter's body can't even be found?"

The man shrugged and responded "All of it. The house reeks of dark magic, but only of one kind. As far as the investigators can tell, the sole curse cast inside of the house was the Killing Curse. All it does is kill people. And yet, somehow, it was able to completely disintegrate Lily Potter? I don't believe that. Still, it's more believable than the kid surviving the Killing Curse."

The woman snorted in agreement.

"Dumbledore's been pushing rather hard on that. What do you want to bet everyone will believe it simply because he said it?"

"Please, I'm not going to take those odds. The man is worshipped around here like the second coming of Merlin. I hear he's even the one who's taking care of the kid now that his parents are gone."

Lily gripped her wand even harder, causing the wood to creak under the strain. Dumbledore. He had her son. He better have a hell of a good reason for it. She had never really trusted the old man, at least not to the same extent as Remus, Sirius, and James had. She had followed him during the war as he did have experience dealing with Dark Wizards, but she'd be damned if she trusted him to take care of her son, especially after what he'd pulled with the wards.

Lily backed away from the site of her former home, taking care to walk a few blocks away before apparating to the park across the street from Grimmauld place, her body still Disillusioned.

She felt the charm wither away as she stepped across the wardline of the house, but right now, she couldn't bring herself to care. She had a bone to pick with an old man.

The inside of Grimmauld place was contained chaos, as the members of the Order of the Phoenix celebrated, glasses raised high in toasts to victory. It had been a long few years for them, and finally, they could go back to living normal lives.

" **DUMBLEDORE!"**

All activity stopped as the assembled wizards and witches beheld Lily Potter standing in the entryway of Grimmauld Place, her expression thunderous. The hallway around her seemed to draw in on itself, melting back before the wrath of one severely pissed off witch.

" **WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON!?"**

One of the wizards pointed a shaky finger at her, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. To him, it probably seemed like he was.

The clump of Order members parted for Dumbledore as he strode forwards, a lampshade on his head and a genial smile on his face that Lily could tell was somewhat forced.

"Lily, my dear girl, how astonishing. We thought you were—"

"My. Son. Where. Is. He."

Dumbledore coughed and gestured with his hand.

"Yes, young Harry. Of course. He's just upstairs. Molly has been looking after him."

Lily swept up the stairs like an avenging angel, her skirt trailing behind her as she strode through the door and picked her child up. She cradled him to her chest with an almost fervent need as Molly Weasely spluttered in shock. Something eased in her chest as she held him, and the tears that she'd been holding back came rushing to the front. She cried, sobbing as she clutched her son to her as if afraid he would vanish at any second.

Dumbledore left, sensing that he was intruding on her grief. As he descended the stairs, the old man frowned to himself. He hadn't foreseen this twist; the wards around Godric's Hollow were supposed to prevent any magical form of travel, and there was always at least one agent watching the house. This event shot all of his plans to hell. Lily being alive was fortuitous, but at the same time, unfortunate. He had planned to drop the boy off at his relatives house, erecting blood wards to keep him safe until the time came for him to attend Hogwarts; he had hoped that his relatives attitude towards magic would help the boy gain a humble demeanor, as befitted a true hero. Now, however…doubtlessly Lily would not part with him. Perhaps if James had lived, she would have listened to him, but with her husband gone, he knew that she would cling to Harry with the fierceness of a nesting dragon.

Tapping his chin, Dumbledore set off to find Severus, the beginnings of a new plan forming in his old, crafty mind.

. . .

Lily kissed little Harry's forehead and laid him down in his crib. She stroked the lightning bolt shaped scar that was carved into his forehead, the flesh still an angry red. She was curious about the scar; why was it such a strange shape, and why did her fingertips buzz slightly whenever she touched it? It felt as if it contained some strange form of magical energy that hadn't quite settled in properly yet.

Shaking her head, Lily stood up and wiped her eyes. Dumbledore would have answers, of that she was sure. If there was one thing she trusted about the old man, it was his ability to find out about seemingly anything.

Most of the partying Order members were already gone or sleeping off their antics. Lily crept down the stairs, fishing out her wand and casting a silent Point-Me spell to find Dumbledore. Her wand spun for a moment in her hand before pointing squarely towards the library.

Lily heard voices as she reached the library door, making a split second decision not to intrude. She halted outside and listened, taking care to keep her wand in hand in case she needed to make a quick escape.

"So we are agreed, Severus. You will take over as guardian of the boy at Lily's side, ensuring to guide him along the proper path."

Lily's eyes narrowed, her lips drawing back into a snarl as she realized they were talking about her beautiful, vulnerable son.

"Sir…you know she'll never agree to that. Lily is anything but weak willed, and I know that she doesn't trust me, not at the moment at least."

"I will speak with her, make her see reason. If necessary, I will use other methods. With James gone, young Harry will need a father in his life, one who will teach him proper respect, teach him how to be a humble and good man. I know of your fondness for the girl; please, Severus. Your involvement will help young Harry become the hero that he must be."

Lily's breathe caught in her throat as she felt a profound sense of betrayal and despair. She had no idea what Dumbledore was talking about, but it seemed that the old goat was far more manipulative than even she had thought he was. Whatever he was planning, she would stop him. She'd die before she let him put his claws on her baby boy.

"And what of the mangy dog?"

"I expect young Sirius will have been picked up by the Aurors by now, or if not, they will do so soon. After he betrayed James and Lily's secret to Tom, he went after Peter. Apparently he killed the poor boy in a fit of madness. Such a regrettable thing."

Lily could almost hear Severus' sneer, even from outside the room. A small part of her that wasn't caught up in the maelstrom of her emotions wondered what she ever saw in him.

"I hope they give that bloody traitor the Dementor's Kiss. It's no less than he deserves for revealing the Secret to Voldemort."

"You should not be so quick to judge, Severus. You yourself…"

Lily left before she could hear Dumbledore say anything else. She didn't need to hear any more, it was already too much for her to fully wrap her head around. Sirius. Merlin damn it, they thought that Sirius had been the Secret-Keeper. He must have gone after Pettigrew after he found out about the attack at Godric's Hollow.

For the second time that day, Lily felt a profound sense of grief and panic claw its way into her breast. Grimmauld place was no longer safe for her. Her or Harry. She couldn't trust anyone. Her husband was dead, and his best friend was currently headed off to the most foul place on Earth. She had nowehere left to turn.

No…that wasn't true. That was at least one person she could trust. One place she could still turn to.

. . .

Remus Lupin cracked the door of his cabin open at four in the morning to find Lily Potter standing on his doorstep, a bundle held in her arms. Her eyes were puffy and red, bags already forming underneath. He blinked and opened the door fully, allowing her inside.

"Lily?"

"Have you heard?"  
Remus shook his head, confused and very concerned at what had happened to put Lily in such a state.

"James is dead."

Remus felt his heart skip a beat. Those were three words that he never thought he'd hear. Three words he never wanted to hear. Lily continued on, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"Voldemort is dead as well. He came to Godric's Hollow while I was out buying a birthday present for…for James. And…somehow…Harry was able to defeat him or…something."

Remus abruptly wondered if he was dreaming. This was too surreal; he felt like he was falling, his entire life turned inside out with a few words. His eyes glazed, Remus dropped down into a chair. Lily sat across from him, removing the covering from the bundle to reveal her son sleeping in her arms.

"Harry…what? How?"

"I don't know either…but we have to hurry. They're taking Sirius to Azkaban as we speak."

Remus slipped a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Everything had gone straight to hell while he was sleeping.

"He would never have…he couldn't…"

"He didn't."

Remus whipped his head up and stared at Lily, managing to gasp out a strangled "What?"

"Sirius was never really our Secret Keeper." Lily's face twisted as if she'd eaten something unpleasant. "James insisted that we make Peter…we didn't…Sirius wasn't…"

Remus slumped back into his chair as Lily fell silent, rocking Harry back and forth in her arms. He remained like that for nearly twenty minutes, trying to comprehend everything that had happened, before an idea suddenly occurred to him. He sat up and narrowed his eyes fractionally.

"I can't…I-I'll need you to swear an oath. And prove that you're who you say you are. Please."

Lily paused a moment, then nodded. She removed her wand and placed it on her forearm.

"I, Lily Potter, swear on my life and magic that I am who I say that I am, and that everything I have said so far is the truth."

A small, fiery light pulsed from the tip of the wand before dissipating, and Remus sank back into his chair, suspicions assuaged. It was a long time before he spoke again.

"What about Dumbledore?"

Lily gritted her teeth. Somewhere in the cabin, a lamp burst in a shower of glass, its structure giving way under the witches rage.

"That old goat fucker was planning to have Snape watch over Harry alongside me. We can't trust him anymore."

Remus shook his head, a protest on his lips, but Lily stopped him with an upraised hand.

"Remus…look…I know it's hard to believe, even with the oath. Honestly, I'm still trying to believe half of it myself. But I know what I heard. I don't have anyone else right now, nowhere else to turn. Please. Help me."

Remus took a deep breath, composed himself as much as he could, and cracked a sad smile that made him look decades older than he actually was.

"Of course…of course. With…with James gone, I swear that I'll do my best to stand by you and young Harry." Remus looked down and murmured to himself "Whatever it takes."

Some of the tension that had been present on Lily's face left, and she offered him a similar smile, before a slightly mischievous look manifested in her eyes.

"So…feeling up to a prison break?"

Remus blinked, then blinked again, before finally looking at his best friend's wife as if she'd gone insane.

"You want to break into _Azkaban_?"

"Sirius is innocent, Remus. I, for one, am not content to leave him in there. We get him out, and we leave."

"Leave? And where would we go?"

Lily shrugged, sighing.

"I don't know. Somewhere other than here. Anywhere other than here."

Remus nodded slowly, stretching.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to get anymore sleep tonight. So…what did you have in mind?"

. . .

The news of the Dark Lord's defeat was the story of a lifetime. The entire staff of the _Daily Prophet_ was over the moon as they worked on the issue that would hit the streets the day after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Sensationalism was a major cornerstone of the company, and the heads of the _Prophet_ planned to milk the story for all it was worth. They were planning at least a month of front page stories about the fall. After all, it wasn't as if another story of such magnitude was going to just drop out of the sky.

However, the very next week after the first issue dropped, a new story graced the front pages of the Prophet, one that was read in shock by wizards and witches all over Britain. Its headline was enormous, written in big, blocky letters that grabbed the attention:

 **November 7** **th** **, 1981**

 **Shocking Break-In at Azkaban! : Convict Sirius Black escapes with help from purportedly deceased Lily Potter and suspected werewolf Remus Lupin!**

 _Not even a week after the demise of You-Know-Who, the Wizarding World has once again been sent rocking as the man who betrayed the Potters to their deaths escaped Azkaban. Eyewitness reports say that the persons who aided in his escape were none other than the supposedly deceased Lily Potter and a longtime friend of Mr. Black's, Remus Lupin. The duo of Potter and Lupin were somehow able to penetrate all the way to Black's cell, fight past the Dementors and guards, before whisking Black away despite the powerful anti-apparition and portkey wards that are placed upon the island. Officials are still reeling in confusion as they try to piece together what happened and how the unlikely pair was able to accomplish it in the first place. According to Investigative Auror Leonard Church "We don't know what happened. All we know is that at around 9 o'clock, Potter and Lupin arrived on the island through unknown means, somehow managed to break their way through several defensive wards, fought their way past the Dementors, and left using the same unknown means. The wardstone of Azkaban suffered severe magical damage, though the cause remains unknown." It seems that for the near future, this case will remain an intriguing mystery._

The story was an instant hit and a huge scandal. Questions were asked and inquiries were made, and quite a few fingers ended up pointed squarely at Albus Dumbledore. Eventually though, the entire thing blew over (mostly), but the fates of Black, Potter, and Lupin remained a mystery. It became a favoured discussion topic for years to come; were the three of them still in Britain? Had they escaped the country and were living in a different magical community? Had they lowered themselves to living amongst the Muggles?

Wizarding Britain didn't know it at the time, but none of those guesses were correct. In actual truth, on November 7th, 1981, at precisely 10:38 PM, Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Harry Potter all vanished off the face of the Earth. The jumpkey created by Lily Potter, a finicky device that was still in its early stages of development, rebounded off of the ancient wards of Azkaban and sent the four of them in a random direction, the group of wizards tumbling through space and time a thousand times faster than a normal portkey until they finally landed…in a new world. This is their story…the story of their escape to a place called Remnant, and everything that happened afterwards.

* * *

 **I know what some of you are saying. "But Z.R. you already have two other fics you're actively writing and you're already bad about updating those." Yes…yes I am, but I am trying to do better. And I just couldn't get this idea out of my head, so, it is now here. I am going to try to update one fic every week, so look out for a new chapter of this every three weeks, though don't quote me on that. Odds are it'll probably be another six months before this gets updated again, but hey, a guy can hope, right?**


	2. Chapter 2: Ursai and Beowolves, Oh My!

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant—A RWBY/Harry Potter crossover AU fic**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **I know that Avengers from Earthland was supposed to have an update this week, but I reaaaally wanted to do a Chapter Two for this, just to break my way into the Remnant part of the fic. Next week I promise that that story will have a new chapter.**

 **Anyways, now that the introductory chapter is out of the way, we can get to the stuff all of you actually want to see…Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Harry in Remnant! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _If you realize you made a mistake with the way you've been living your life, you just have to take the next moment and start over. –Erza Scarlet_

. . .

The very first thing that Lily saw upon opening her eyes was the moon shining proudly in the sky. Now, normally, there would have been nothing wrong with that, if it weren't for two facts. One, Remus was with them, or at least, he had been when they'd taken the jumpkey from Azkaban. And two, the moon was broken.

It wasn't that it was a crescent or a sliver. It wasn't even that it had a new crater that she'd never seen before, which she probably would have passed off as a meteorite strike or something. No, the moon was literally broken into thousands of tiny pieces, with roughly half of it still in one piece.

Frankly, it was worrying. It probably would have caused her to immediately panic if she didn't currently feel like she had been beaten up by a gang and dumped in a ditch somewhere.

After several minutes of lying down, staring at the impossibly broken moon (which was strangely beautiful, in a haunting, alien kind of way), Lily finally worked up enough energy to use her voice.

"Herrrrgh…"

After a fit of painful coughing, the redhead gave it another go, managing to call out to her compatriots. "Remus? Sirius?"

"Ughhh. I'm here. Kill me now."

"Stop being such a child, Sirius, or would you have rather stayed in Azkaban?"

"Azkaban didn't hurt this much."

Lily's lips quirked into a smile, before she grimaced as she tried to sit up. The three of them had landed in what looked like an abandoned city. Crumbling buildings surrounded them—crumbling _Muggle_ buildings, she thought on closer inspection. Windows gaped, devoid of glass, while weeds grew out of the cracked street. A stone sculpture loomed over the group, though the subject of the sculpture was missing arms and most of its head. The entire area was utterly silent apart from the noises produced by the outworld interlopers. It was a profoundly lonely place.

Her eyes caught sight of movement, and Lily's gaze settled on two forms that were also slowly struggling to get up off of the ground. One of them turned towards her, which she hesitantly identified as Sirius; the combination of low light and the blood rushing to her head didn't exactly lend itself to accurate identification.

Sirius called out "Lily? How 'bout you?"

"I'm fine…well, besides hurting like hell." She responded. "As soon as I can move a bit more, I'm going to check on Harry; he's sleeping inside of one of the rooms of my trunk right now."

Sirius' sharp intake of breath did not go unnoticed.

"So Harry is…thank Merlin. I thought you were dead. Both of you…I'm…so sorry."

A groan came from Remus' direction as he stood up, shaking out his limbs in front of the moon. He cracked his back and said "Don't apologize, Padfoot. You may not have done the smartest thing, but Wormtail needed to be killed. If I had found out sooner, I would've joined you."

"A bloody pacifist like you? Please. Like you would h-have…the uh…uh…Remus? Why do you have ears?"

Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius, confused, before his face paled. Blinking, Lily observed Remus a little more closely, discovering two mounds on the top of Remus' head that had no right to be there (under normal circumstances, which it seemed they were no longer in). Raising his hand, Remus reached up to them and hesitantly touched them.

The ears, as Lily saw them to now be, twitched.

Remus staggered backwards as fast as his recovering body would allow, trying to put as much distance between himself and his friends as possible. After only a few steps, he tripped over one of the many bumps in the pavement. Lily heard a sharp snapping noise as Remus fell.

Though he was in massive pain from his now broken ankle, Remus continued to crawl away, shouting at Lily and Sirius the entire time.

"Stay back, please! You both need to get as far away as you can, right now!"

Lily and Sirius shared a concerned look, watching cautiously for several moments while Remus continued his gradual departure. Eventually, when nothing happened, Sirius sighed and stood up, saying "I'll go get him. We need to have a sit down…find our bearings. It's only been…what, ten minutes, and I already have…more questions than I can even put names to."

Lily nodded; while the sight of Remus' ears had struck fear into her heart at first, it seemed evident to both of them now that Remus was not going to change into his lycan form anytime soon…for some reason. She filed that question away to ask after they had determined where the hell they were, why the moon was broken, and how Harry was doing.

Seeing as Sirius was occupied trying to coax Remus out of his desperate escape, Lily decided to answer her last question for herself. Reaching into the satchel that she had brought with her to Azkaban, Lily withdrew her miniaturized trunk and promptly returned it back to its original dimensions. She unlocked the seventh lock in the row of the trunk, which when opened, revealed a staircase that had no real business existing within the boundaries of normal space. Easing her aching body down the stairs took the better part of five minutes, but eventually, Lily stood by the crib which contained her son, peacefully sleeping in his trunk-room.

It had been Remus' idea to bring Harry along with them, as well as any supplies that they thought they needed. Lily had been loath to involve her precious son in danger, had in fact had a shouting match with Remus for several hours about it. However, Remus had eventually convinced her in the end; no one else that they knew could be implicitly trusted to care after Harry while also being free of Dumbledore's influence, and neither of them thought that leaving Harry alone was a good plan. Taking Harry was simply the best of a slew of bad options. Not to mention, Lily planned for the four of them to leave the country as quickly as possible (as is preferable for prison escapees), and the possibility of being caught when going to pick up Harry was too great.

To negate any danger, Lily had placed Harry inside of a trunk that she had bought as a graduation present from Hogwarts. The thing was enchanted to high heaven with five spacious rooms (and two ordinary trunk spaces—always a plus when dealing with Muggles), anti-fire, anti-theft, and anti-spell protections, and a whole slew of other charms, some of Lily's own making.

In all honesty, little Harry was safer in this trunk room than he had probably been in Godric's Hollow; however, British Magical society did have several laws against keeping infants inside of trunks, magically expanded or not.

Of course, as they were breaking the law anyways, Lily and Remus really didn't care about that.

Regardless, it had kept Harry safe, and that was what mattered. Lily leaned down to kiss her son, smiling at his tiny face, before checking on the infant-safe stasis charm. She hated to do this, but they were in potentially hostile territory in the middle of some abandoned Muggle city, and it was safer in the trunk than it was outside. The charm slowed down Harry's bodily functions, to the point where the year old baby would be able to go days without food or water with little adverse effect.

"I'll be back soon, I promise. Mommy won't be gone long."

Giving her son one more kiss, Lily made her way back up the stairs, exiting the trunk to find Remus and Sirius deep in discussion.

Remus looked up and immediately asked "How's Harry?"

"Still sleeping. The _claudicatus_ charm will wear off in twenty hours, then he's coming out of the trunk. I'm not risking applying it again. So…we have a day to figure out what the hell is going on."

Sirius coughed, a strange expression on his face.

"I fixed Remus' ankle as best I could but…well. He still has those ears. And I can't remove them."

Lily's eyes widened at that. Normally, conjured animal parts were fairly easy to deal with if one knew what one was doing. Some were only temporary, vanishing after a set amount of time, while the ones that clung to the body permanently could typically be removed with a _finite_. Most of the more esoteric variations could be removed with a greater effort and more complicated spells, and Sirius had plenty of experience in that particular art (a side effect of his years of pranking—Sirius was quit well versed in cancelling out any trace of his magic, so as to avoid being caught). So, the fact that Sirius could not remove the wolf ears meant that they were likely linked not to any charm or spell, but to Remus' werewolf nature.

"So…it's a partial transformation?"

Remus shrugged, looking uncomfortable but thankfully not trying to make a bolt for it anymore.

"Now that I've calmed down…I don't know, it's strange. I can never quite remember what happens during my…jaunts…but during the changing…between the pain, I would notice little things, like seeing in the dark much better…now, it's the same. Somewhat. I don't feel in pain…well, aside from the ankle." Sirius snorted at that. "I can see almost perfectly, despite it being night. And my ears…err…these ears," Remus pointed to the furry wolf ears adorning his head "These can pick up both of your heartbeats. I think my nose is sharper as well…Sirius smells like a backed up loo."

Lily smothered a giggle, while Sirius smacked his best friend upside the head.

"Scrawny wolf."

"Mangy dog."

Lily rolled her eyes and said "Boys. Anyways…so far, you haven't seemed like a threat. Sirius and I will keep an eye on you, but for now, I think you're safe."

Remus nodded, a small measure of relief seeming to flow into him at her words. He then frowned and flicked his eyes to the shattered moon.

"With that out of the way…I'd very much like to know where we are."

Lily sighed and removed her wand.

"That's just the thing, I've no idea. I'm fairly certain all of us would have noticed if the moon had broken like that. So…we're all under the influence of an illusion, we're all crazy or we're…not on Earth anymore."

To say that Sirius and Remus were shocked would be an understatement. Their jaws were trying very hard to detach from their mouths and hit the floor.

"How is…how is that even possible?"

Lily cast a barrage of Point-Me and other locator spells, frowning when they didn't function.

"I don't know. The jumpkey was experimental…not always perfectly accurate. But it's never gone anywhere even remotely close to this off course before. That it could is…it'd be like throwing a dart at a dartboard only to miss the dartboard and end up murdering the Minister of Magic…who was sitting in his office, five miles away from the bar where you were throwing the dart. It's simply impossible...or it should be. Then again…Azkaban was originally built by Ekrizdis, the 15th century Dark Wizard who terrorized both Ireland and Scotland for well over a decade. According to the sources I could find, he made the wards personally, and the Ministry of Magic never replaced them. It's possible…perhaps, that the powerful, eldritch level wards of Azkaban interfered with the jumpkey…maybe the two operate along a similar frequency…"

Sirius headed Lily off with a raised hand before she could devolve into an analytical mood, knowing that she would likely remain in a stupor while she puzzled out another mystery of magic.

"It doesn't really matter right now, Lily. So…we're here, in a strange place, possibly not on Earth…damn, that's strange to say. Remus has ears and might be stuck in some kind of partial transformation, but he's fine, so right now, that doesn't matter either. All that matters right now is HOLY SHIT WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT THING!?"

Whirling around, Lily and Remus saw what Sirius was referring to. About a hundred meters away, a large, black shape had emerged from behind one of the abandoned buildings. It was shaped vaguely like a bear, though it had an array of massive spikes growing out of its back, and a mask covering its face. Both protuberances were bone white, while the thing's eyes glowed a fiery red that, even from a distance, exuded hatred and malice. The creature, having heard them, was now charging at the threesome with a purposeful stride, its black paws slamming against the ruined road.

Sirius whipped his wand towards the beast and yelled out " _Confringo_!"

The Blasting Curse flew towards the lumbering creature, which stumbled momentarily under the spell before continuing its charge; other than a missing spike and a crack in its mask, there was no visible damage.

Lily and Remus quickly flanked Sirius, and the three of them started casting like their lives depended on it. Some spells seemed to have no visible effect on the beast, but a stream of _Confringos_ and _Reductos_ took the thing down. It skidded to a halt less than a dozen meters away, its body dissolving into nothingness until only a pool of black ichor remained.

The group had no time to relax, however, as several other monstrous beasts began their approach. Some of them resembled the bear-like creature, while others were more like werewolves. All, however, bore the bone spurs and skull-like mask that the first creature had possessed.

Remus fired off a string of silent Banishers before he turned to the two and said a single word.

"Run."

Lily nodded and grabbed the trunk, shrinking it down and placing it back into her satchel while Sirius and Remus continued holding the line. With that taken care of, the three took off, the small pack of monsters hot on their heels.

Remus suddenly pointed to a moderately intact building and yelled out "Up there!"

The three Apparated within a few seconds of each other, a loud triple crack signaling their departure. They reappeared on top of the building that Remus had pointed out and took a moment to catch their breathe.

Down below, the creatures halted their charge and began sniffing the ground, trying to detect where their prey had gone to. Unable to find a trace, the pack dispersed, some of the members clawing at the ground in what seemed like frustration.

Sirius sat on the ledge of the decrepit structure and shook his head.

"What the hell is going on? I've never seen anything like that! Those things…they almost felt like…well, not exactly, but the closest I can compare them to would be Dementors."

Remus nodded in agreement with his longtime friend.

"I felt it too. Not nearly to the same extent…it was much more subtle. That feeling of hate…I could almost taste it. I felt vulnerable…like my soul was at stake. They can't be natural."

"The first one dissolved into a cloud of black ash after we killed it…of course it isn't natural!"

Remus held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, just…calm down. Yelling won't accomplish anything…actually, we probably should try to be as quiet as possible, your shout is what drew…them…to us."

"Good point. So…monsters. It's looking more and more like we're not on Earth anymore."

Lily kneaded the bridge of her nose, feeling a stress induced headache forming.

"Perhaps. Like you said early, it doesn't matter much right now. We're vulnerable out here, and I'm not sure if I trust anything I have on me to keep us safe. That thing shrugged off a Body-Binding curse like it was nothing before we brought it down. Whatever they are, they clearly have some kind of magical resistance…not on the same level of dragons, thank Merlin, but enough to have me worried. Until we know what we're dealing with, I don't want to risk Harry under the presumption that these monsters can't get past our spells."

Remus grimaced, his lips compressed into a thin line. Idly, a small part of Lily's mind noticed that his new ears were perked up and turning constantly.

"I wouldn't either. In all honesty, I don't think we are safe up here. I can hear them moving around down there, faintly. They haven't left the area, even if they've lost the scent. I'd rather not stick around while a pack of predators hunts wants to eat us."

Lily and Sirius nodded in agreement, and the group lapsed into silence for a few moments. Sirius was the one to break the spell, a thoughtful look on his face.

"If there are buildings…then there must be humans or…something…living around here, something intelligent. We should take a look around…try to find any signs of current civilization."

Remus narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"Hmm…that's right. Despite the state of these ruins, they can't be much more than fifty years old, if that."

The threesome turned their attention outwards, towards the horizon. The moon was nearly halfway through its descent, indicating that night was only an hour or so away from ending. Ruined city extended in every direction, the spires extending up from the ground like long forgotten trees. To the west of the city was a large bay, and on the far, northern, side of the water, dozens of kilometers away, a string of lights could be seen, steadily showing in the darkness.

Sirius had a dopey grin on his face upon observing the lights. He turned to Lily and Remus and said "Told you so. That's our ticket out of here."  
Lily snorted and continued gazing at the distant light source.

"Maybe. Or it could just be an even worse place than this one. We need to be cautious, Sirius."

"Do you think we should go for it?"

"…yes. Despite it being an unknown, there's a high potential that help could be found in that direction. Where there's light, there's life, and hopefully they won't begrudge us protection…whoever they are. There might even be a city."

"Wait." Remus shushed both of them. His body stilled, his ears seemingly straining to hear. They shifted independently of his head movements, seeking out an elusive sound that only he could hear.

"I hear wings"  
"Like a dragon?"

"No…I don't think so…like a bird…a really, really big bird."

A loud, if distant, screech tore through the air, and the threesome looked up in horror. Descending upon them at breakneck speeds was a giant crow-like bird, wearing one of the now familiar bone white masks (though this one had, disturbingly, four blood red eyes). Though it was still a kilometer away, they could tell that it was as large as any dragon and, taken with the magical resistance its cousins had displayed, it made the wizards and witch rather nervous. Sirius turned to Lily and jerked his head to the north-west.

"Think we should we make a break for it?"

Lily frowned, taking a bare second to think before nodding.

"If we stay up here we'll get torn to shreds. Try to stay together, call out where you're Apparating to. Hopefully we'll be able to shake it off."

. . .

It was not easy to shake off. Unlike the bear and werewolf types, the crow type seemed to have truly excellent vision, as would be expected of an aerial predator. Even Disillusionment charms didn't throw it off the trail; the giant avian simply kept pursuing, its haunting screech echoing in the threesome's ears.

The raptor was also much tougher than its compatriots had been. Blasting Curses had no observable effect, and it shrugged off a _Bombarda_ without missing a beat. Not that the magic users took much time to curse it; most of their precious time, they spent running, pointing out spots to Apparate to, and then repeating the process. Visibility was limited, and they limited their Apparition to perhaps half a kilometer each time, as they were completely unfamiliar with the area. Any further and they risked Splinching, twisted ankles, or ending up inside of a tree.

"Goddamn bloody crow! How does it keep on finding us?"

Sirius cast a slew of increasingly exotic curses and hexes at the approaching creature while Remus and Lily scoped out a new Apparition point. They were more than halfway to the welcoming string of lights, and the ruined city had given way to a forest full of mighty trees. They had tried to stay along the edge of the treeline, hugging it as they Apparated up the coastline; that way, they could travel as far as possible on each trip and still have cover if needed.

Or at least, that had been the theory. Several times during their escape, Lily had caught sight of other shadowy beasts lurking amongst the trees. Whatever these things were, they were everywhere. She desperately hoped that the lights held some form of salvation, because right now, the chances of surviving for any length of time out in this wilderness were lowering quickly.

Remus suddenly grabbed her arm, and Lily turned towards him. His haggard face, already pale from a long week of planning and stress, seemed even more gaunt than usual.

"I hear scuttling. Like some sort of giant insect."

The three of them promptly Apparated to the next point, stumbling slightly in exhaustion. Turning back the way they came, the threesome saw what looked like a colossal scorpion break out of the treeline, the monster coming to a stop over where they had previously been.

"This place just keeps getting better. What the hell is next, a giant bone dragon with six eyes? Merlin's beard, I'd hate to live out here." Sirius finished off his miniature tirade and eyed the crow, which hadn't even paused in its pursuit. It screeched again, the savage, malicious sound, sending a shiver through their hearts.

The beast was an avatar of destruction, a relentless hunter that had one purpose in life; to kill any human it laid its eyes on. It would not stop if one came into its sights, and it would not easily tire. One could hide, for a time, but that would simply delay the inevitable. Death was, Lily thought, the only true way to be free of these beings. Either hers, or theirs.

It was at that very moment, that something proved her right. A loud gunshot sounded along the waters of the bay, and the crow suddenly fell, an enormous hole punched through its wing. The black beast tumbled out of the air and slammed onto the rocky shore, alive but grievously injured. Another shot rang out, and the beast slumped down dead, its body already decaying.

Lily and her companions turned their eyes in the direction of the gunfire, and beheld a distant figure waving at them. Sirius, Remus, and Lily looked at each other, nodded, and began to walk towards their savior, deliberately not Apparating in case this person was a Muggle (which, given the use of a gun, seemed likely).

Upon approaching, the threesome found the gun's owner to be a young man around the same age as themselves, early twenties, perhaps. He wore a grey jacket, and a tattered red cloak hung off of his shoulders. Slung over one shoulder was a gigantic sniper rifle, and an equally large blade peaked out from behind his back. For some reason, he was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses, despite the fact that it was still nighttime.

"Erm…hello?" Sirius offered, not entirely sure how to respond to the man who had saved them.

The man's eyebrows furrowed, and he said something in a language none of them understood.

Lily frowned and palmed her wand.

"Sirius, try and distract him. Let me try and remember a translation charm…I know that I know one…"

Sirius nodded almost imperceptivity and stepped forwards, stopping when the stranger tightened his grip on the oversized sniper rifle.

"H-hello…thank you for saving us. We come in peace. Eh…take us to your leader?"

Remus smacked a hand over his face as he tried to stop grinning; it was so perfectly Sirius to try and make a joke out of a situation like this. Lily didn't notice, deep as she was in her thoughts. Suddenly snapping her fingers, Lily cast a silent translation charm on herself just as the stranger began speaking again.

"I hope you're not insulting me, bud. I'd hate to have to shoot you after saving you."

"Please! We need help, sir!" Lily began earnestly. The man exhibited no outward reaction at her suddenly speaking his language, though that may have just been because of the aviators. "We've been running away from those beasts for quite some time now, and were hoping to gain sanctuary in the city up ahead."

The man gave her an appraising glance, before shrugging.

"Sure, that's fine by me. Though I am curious as to why you three are mucking around outside of Vale. Ya don't look much like Huntsmen. And what's that language yer friend was speaking?"

During the course of the conversation, Lily had managed to cast the translation charm on both Remus and Sirius. The latter stepped forwards again, a disarming smile on his face.

"Just English, as it were. So…erm…the cities name is Vale, Mister?"

The man raised a single eyebrow at the question before reaching up to pluck off his aviators. Two blood red orbs stared out at them, frightfully similar to the beasts that they had just been running from.

"Name's Qrow. Come on, you lot can answer questions on the way back to Vale. It isn't safe out here, even this close to the city."

. . .

Qrow wasn't entirely sure what to think of the small group. He had always been a good judge of body language and character, at least more so than most of his fellow Beacon classmates. His skills had only advanced after graduating as a Hunstman, and the knowledge had served him well in his frequent infiltration missions. Being able to judge people let him choose an accurate response, and the three in front of him were setting off all sorts of alarm bells, though not necessarily of the bad kind. They were clearly tired, stressed, and afraid, but they were holding up remarkably well, much better than any civilian would if they had been trapped outside the city. Despite this, it was clear they weren't Huntsman; they were too raw, too sloppy. They had experience fighting then, but no formal training. Then, there was the fact that they didn't know the name of Vale, and didn't seem to know what Grimm were called…which was just plain weird. All in all, Qrow wasn't quite sure how to categorize them and simply opted to guide them to Vale, for now.

The girl was a looker though. Long red hair and eyes greener than any he'd ever seen. Her two male friends were a bit on the scruffy side, though they each were handsome in their own way, he supposed. Privately, Qrow reassured himself that he was much better looking.

"So…where are you going to take us?" asked the gangly one with the sandy hair.

Qrow adjusted the sniper rifle on his shoulder; deciding to take a chance, he said "Well, normally I'd just drop civilians off in Vale proper after a job, but you three…call me crazy, but for some reason I'm getting the feeling you're not from around here."

The trio looked amongst themselves, communicating silently before the one with the long hair and beard responded "Maybe. If we weren't, where would you be taking us?"

"If you weren't? That's awfully vague, bud. But if you weren't, I'd take you to see Ozpin. He's the Headmaster at Beacon. Oz'll know what to do."

Qrow observed a flash of disgust appear on the woman's face at the word 'Headmaster'. Curious.

Very curious.

* * *

 **Yes! Its Mothertrucking QROW! My second favourite RWBY character ever, and who I think is the perfect person to introduce them to Ozpin.**

 **Please take note, this does take place long before both stories. Harry and Ruby will be approximately the same age, so, given that Harry is currently one year old, Ruby is the same age. Draw what conclusions you will from that.**

 **On the subject of Apparition, one can only teleport to someplace you can see clearly in your mind's eye. Navigating an unknown area, and taking into account the limits of human eyesight, I think half a kilometer is plenty far.**

 **On the subject of Harry being in a trunk, desperate times call for desperate measures.**

 **Lastly, got this one out inless than a month. There is hope!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Wizard

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **This is a very,** _ **very**_ **info heavy chapter, please forgive me for this lore bomb.**

 **Last update for a little while. I worked hard to get this one out before I go on vacation, so please, enjoy.**

* * *

 _You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own. Move forward. You've got a strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them. -Edward Elric_

. . .

The group reached Vale within the hour. They would have arrived much sooner if Apparition had been utilized, but Lily and her companions had agreed (through various silent facial expressions) that they would be better off simply observing this Qrow.

So far, both sides had been rather tight lipped about their intentions, origins, and the like. Lily and co. now knew that the city of Vale was one of four major cities in the world of Remnant (or country or region; they hadn't asked directly so they weren't certain which it was), though the only other city Qrow had mentioned was Vacuo. They knew that the monsters that they had been fighting were called Grimm (the name was exceptionally foreboding, and all three wizards shivered at the comparisons they drew to the legendary black dog of death). Qrow had also told them a bit about the man they were going to meet, the mysterious Ozpin. Lily couldn't help but draw parallels between him and Dumbledore; a powerful older man, revered by most of the populace, and who was known for his great wisdom. That he was a Headmaster at 'Beacon' (most likely a school of higher education of some kind) was simply icing on the unappetizing cake. Still, she would withhold ultimate judgement until she met the man.

Qrow, on the other hand, had learned even less about the threesome. The girl's name was Lily, while the mangy man went by Sirius and the gangly gaunt one was Remus. They hadn't told him where they were from, but seeing as they didn't know what Vale was called and they hadn't reacted to him mentioning Vacuo, the odds that they hailed from one of the four kingdoms was low. Qrow was placing his money on them being from some village outside of the kingdoms. It explained almost everything about them and their various oddities: the strange language they had spoken when they first encountered him, the fortitude that spoke of experience without proper huntsman training, and the lack of knowledge about the outside world in general. Still, to not know what Grimm were called...there was something fishy going on here. Qrow hoped that Ozpin would be able to wheedle more information out of them, because right now, he knew next to nothing about the traveling trio.

As they reached the perimeter defenses of Vale, the Hogwarts alumni had to stop themselves from staring. Massive towers dotted the landscape, arranged in a line that separated the wilderness from the city, one that looked to be every bit as large as London. Gun turrets bristling from the top and sides of the towers, swivelling around on well maintained mountings. A wall of stone and steel that was at least ten meters tall connected the towers, barbed wire strung along the top and bottom. It was a rather intimidating sight.

Sirius whistled lowly and said "Well, guess that explains why you lot haven't been overrun by the Grimm."

Qrow huffed in amusement, saying "The walls really aren't that important. Most of the Kingdom's defenses are passive in nature, like the mountains to the East. Geography does more for Vale than a hundred thousand Huntsmen or Huntresses could."

Sirius nodded, a look of concern finding its way onto his face. Lily felt the emotion as well; it sounded as if the situation was even more dire than any of them had imagined if the only settlements could exist in certain areas.

Qrow conferred with the soldiers at the mouth of the gate, the two men waving them through with some sort of ultra high tech Muggle rifle. Lily had never seen anything like them outside of a movie, and for an absurd second, she wondered if they had somehow ended up in the future. The moon did resemble the moon of Earth, though it was broken. The presence of humans (she assumed Qrow was human, though his crimson eyes perhaps indicated otherwise) also supported this idea. However, two things stopped that train of thought: one, there was a infinitesimal percent chance the jumpkey would work like that, seeing as it moved the holder through space, not time. And two, none of her Point-Me spells had worked, even the one that she had attempted to use to point her in the direction of the British Isles. Even if it was the future, she doubted that anything could entirely destroy the islands where she had been born and raised, and if something had...she shuddered to think of whatever might have been powerful enough to accomplish that. Idly, she noted that they had entered some sort of agricultural area, with plenty of farms and gardens in sight. Qrow hailed down a flying vehicle, of all things (Lily vaguely recalled that they were called Veetoles or something) and gestured for them to board.

The sun had just started to peek over the horizon as the foursome flew into the city proper. While Lily was caught up in her ruminations on whether or not they had travelled through time, Sirius and Remus were taking their time to observe the city of Vale. It was a magnificent place, of that, there was no doubt. Though clearly Muggle in design, Sirius and Remus spotted many structures that one would never find in London. A monorail rain through the city, speeding along at a rate that made the Hogwarts Express look like a geriatric turtle. Though Muggle automobiles were present, they drove on a massive highway system that was bordered by some kind of flickering blue barrier.

Sirius turned to their guide and asked "Just how large is Vale?"

Qrow pursed his lips, thinking. He responded after a moment "Last I checked there were about four million people living in the city. Most of them are in the residential districts, though a fair number do live in the agricultural, industrial, and commercial areas. Vale itself is around a thousand square kilometers. Must be a big change from wherever you came from."

Sirius nodded, a little overwhelmed by the large number. Considering there hadn't even been two million wizards in the entire world when they left Britain, it spoke volumes of just how _large_ the city was. Then again, if Vale was one of only four cities in this strange new world, and the other three had similar populations, that meant that the entire population of this world was less than one percent as large as that of Earth.

The transport ship landed not long afterwards, the foursome debarking onto a landing platform. As both of his companions were occupied by their individual dark thoughts, Remus was the only one to look up at the sight in front of him.

"Woah…"

A part of Remus couldn't help but compare the building in front of him to Hogwarts Castle. Both were magnificent, awe inspiring structures, edifices of learning that had hosted many students over the years. However, that was where the similarities ended. Hogwarts had always exuded age to Remus, it's cracked stone foundations worn by the passage of a millennia. It was a location of tradition and ancient knowledge, mired in a long and glorious (though some would disagree on the 'glorious' part) past. Beacon, on the other hand, seemed to emit a sense of _newness_ , the buildings tall and straight with few signs of wear and tear. Swooping stone arches were mixed in with modern metal construction, towering glass windows stood right next to holographic projectors. More than that though, Remus thought, the Academy was much more militaristic than Hogwarts had ever been. He spotted a number of gun turrets hiding away in corners and adorning the tops of the arches, their gleaming barrels glinting in the early morning sun. Numerous people in uniform were just beginning to start their day, milling around on whatever personal business they had to attend and—did that woman have a fox tail?

Remus' train of thought was brought to a screeching halt as his eyes fixed on a woman with a Merlin-be-damned fox tail walked past, the furry protrusion wagging back and forth. On top of his head, he felt his other set of ears twitch as if in response to seeing a person who, for some reason, had animal traits like he did (though he'd never heard of a werefox before. Just another question to ask about this strange place they'd found themselves in).

Qrow, ignorant of the thoughts of the three he was escorting, started talking.

"Welcome to Beacon. Oz'll be in his tower, he's usually awake by this time. If he isn't,we can just wait a little while. I should warn you though, the man's a little ornery when he hasn't had his coffee yet. Let's hope we catch him after he drinks a cup or five."

. . .

Headmaster Ozpin sat in his office, nursing on his second coffee of the day. Glynda, bless her heart, had been kind enough to preemptively brew some for him before he awoke. He mentally wrote himself a note to buy her something extra nice for her birthday this year.

On his desk, a notification popped up, signalling that someone wanted to gain access to his office. Upon closer inspection, the ID revealed itself to be that of none other than Qrow Branwen, formerly of Team STRQ. Ozpin smiled to himself as he approved the request. He'd been considering inducting Qrow into the Brotherhood for awhile now; he needed someone to fill the vacancy left by Topaz Tollman, who had been put permanently out of commision from a King Taijitu bite. Qrow would make an excellent replacement for old Toto; the young man had proven himself to be quite capable in the field, even if he did had an abrasive personality. Still, needs must as needs must; Ozpin had faith that the young man could go far in defense of the maidens with the right push. If that didn't work out, the lad was still a fine warrior, and would serve his kingdom well in whatever capacity he chose. He would never come between a Huntsman and their choices. Too much control only led down dark roads, ones which Ozpin had long stopped travelling down.

The doors opened soon after, and four people strolled into his office, three of whom Ozpin did not know. One was a woman with striking red hair, one was a young man with shoulder length hair that badly needed a wash, and one was a gaunt-faced wolf Faunus who had numerous scars covering his face. A rather odd trio, but Ozpin had seen much stranger over the years.

"Please, come in. Have a seat."

The three strangers looked around the room, confused, before the human male piped up.

"Where? There aren't any chairs in here…"

The man's sentence trailed off as four ornate metal chairs suddenly materialized in the middle of the room. All of them appeared taken aback, something which Qrow caught onto as well.

"That's just part of Oz's Semblance. Don't worry, caught me off guard the first time I saw it too."

The man who had spoken early flicked his eyes between Ozpin and the chairs, his body tensing. The woman stamped on the man's foot and jerked her head. Ozpin caught a subtle nod of the head, before the Faunus joined in on the silent conversation. A small smile broke its way onto Ozpin's face and he said "While I don't want to intrude on your non-verbal conversation, I can't help but wonder if it is my...ahem, _Semblance_ which is causing your dilemma. If it helps, I am more than willing to answer... _most_ any questions you may have regarding it."

The woman, who seemed to have been elected the unofficial spokesperson for the group, stepped forwards and began speaking, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Right. I suppose we should introduce ourselves first. My name is Lily Potter. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And we're wizards."

. . .

From the moment that Lily entered the office, she'd been on edge. Too much about this situation reeked of similarity to Dumbledore. The eccentric office, the exclusive access, even the man himself. She couldn't help but draw parallels from the moment she walked through the door.

After a few seconds following that train of thought, she reeled it in, ordering herself to give him a chance. To be honest, now that she looked at the man closer, he didn't bear much resemblance to Dumbledore at all. He had a certain ageless quality to him that Dumbledore lacked. His face was unlined, though his hair was a uniform, natural silver (if she were back on Earth, she would have wondered if he was a Metamorphmagus). Overall, he didn't seem to be that much older than herself. There was something about his eyes though...while Dumbledore always had that maddening, grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes, Ozpin had a much more serious countenance; he seemed to exude experience and serenity, in a manner that Dumbledore only matched when the old man dropped his senile act.

Perhaps she'd been too quick to judge him. Lily decided to give him one chance to prove himself. If he was dishonest like Dumbledore was (she still seethed at the thought of how the old goat had tricked and lied to her), Ozpin was going to find himself at the mercy of a fully fledged witch.

"Please, come in. Have a seat."

Lily, Remus and Sirius glanced around the room, confused. Sirius asked "Where? There aren't any chairs in here…"

Lily's eyes widened as four chairs suddenly appeared out of thin air. There was no way that that wasn't magic; what's more, she hadn't seen Ozpin _move_. Even if his wand was in that cane of his, that was still an extremely impressive bit of spellwork.

Qrow misinterpreted their sudden shift in attitude and said "That's just Oz's Semblance. Don't worry, caught me off guard the first time I saw it too."

Lily filed away the word Semblance for another time. Sirius looked like he about ready to do something stupid; she stamped on his foot to draw his attention, shaking her head. If this man was powerful enough to conjure furniture without wand movements _or_ incantations, he was a force to be reckoned with; given that they were in the heart of his domain, it would be wise to be cautious.

Sirius nodded back, and Remus shot the both of them an anxious glance.

Ozpin interrupted their silent pow-wow, saying "While I don't want to intrude on your non-verbal conversation, I can't help but wonder if it is my...ahem, _Semblance_ which is causing your dilemma. If it helps, I am more than willing to answer... _most_ any questions you may have regarding it."

Lily turned her attention back to the man. This could turn out either really good or really, really bad. She didn't feel confident enough in her knowledge of this strange word to lie convincingly, so the truth it was. Besides, if she wanted the man to be honest with her, she had to be honest with him first.

Lily stepped forwards, took a breath and said "Right. I suppose we should introduce ourselves first. My name is Lily Potter. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And we're wizards."

The silence that met that statement only lasted a second before she heard laughter coming from Qrow, who was leaning against the wall rather than taking one of the chairs.

"Wizards? Seriously? Don't tell me you're from some backwards podunk place in the sticks that still thinks Semblances are 'magical powers'."

Lily flushed at the man's words, resisting the urge to palm her wand and show him what she meant by _magic_ with a choice hex or two. With no small amount of effort, she turned her attention away from Qrow and back towards Ozpin.

Ozpin, who was examining her with narrowed amber eyes. Lily could feel her skin prickle slightly as a wave of power rushed over her. The sensation vanished after a split second, but it left Lily wondering what it was.

Ozpin raised a single eyebrow and pressed a few buttons on his desk.

"Glynda, can you come up here for a moment?"

His piece said, Ozpin resumed his study of his visitors. Qrow snorted and asked "Are you seriously believing them, Oz? They have to be crazy, you know magic ain't real."

Ozpin remained silent, staying that way until the lift door slid open to admit a striking middle aged woman with eyes as green as Lily's own. The woman glanced haughtily around the room, eyes falling first on Sirius, who had his gaze fixed firmly on the woman's ample chest. Jaw tightening, the woman then examined Remus and Lily, before finally turning to Ozpin.

"You called?"

"It seems these three are wizards."

Glynda's eyes widened, and she gave them a much less imperious once over.

"You're sure?"

"Without a doubt."

Qrow looked between the two, suddenly realizing that whatever was going on was not a joke.

"Wha? Seriously?"

Ozpin sighed and set down his coffee cup.

"I had hoped to delay this conversation with you, Qrow, but it seems as if I have no other choice. Will you hold your questions until I've answered those of our guests? I might invariably answer some of them them along the way."

Qrow hesitantly nodded his head, and Ozpin turned his attention back to the trio of wizards.

"Go right ahead. Anything you might wish to ask, I will endeavor to answer as truthfully as I can."

Lily nodded, biting her lip. She wasn't entirely certain what was going on between the Headmaster and his two subordinates, but she wasn't going to pass up on an offer of honesty like this.

"Are you a wizard?"

"I am."

"Are there others?"

Ozpin paused and cocked his head before saying "There are others who use magic as I do, yes. However, I am afraid that their identities must remain secret, for now."

"Why?"

Again Ozpin paused, a small frown appearing on his lips.

"Their safety depends on their anonymity. Knowledge of magic is not widespread in the Kingdoms of Remnant."

Lily frowned as well and opened her mouth to ask another question, but Sirius beat her to the punch.

"Then why did you conjure a chair in front of a Muggle? And what the hell is a 'Semblance'?"

"Muggle?" Ozpin asked.

"People who can't use magic."

Ozpin's lip curled up at that, amusement plain on his face.

"Ah. Perhaps a lesson is in order. Forgive me if I am wrong, but you three don't strike me as being very knowledgeable about certain aspects of society that we simply take for granted."

Lily grimaced and nodded, chagrined that he had caught onto them so quickly.

"Remnant is...an interesting place, as you are no doubt aware. Grimm are a constant threat, forcing most humans to live in one of the four cities by necessity. While some choose to live outside the protection of the cities, those settlements never last long. What's more, the Grimm have existed since the dawn of recorded history in Remnant. You can imagine how difficult it must have been back in the day for humanity to defend itself."

Lily internally agreed. If humans were confined to four cities now, it spoke volumes of how much of a threat the Grimm were. Taking away the advantage of all of the advanced technology that she had seen in Vale seemed like it would utterly destroy humanity's chances of survival.

"However, early mankind survived the Grimm for four reasons, two of which are public knowledge. The first was the discovery of a native, crystallized energy source that is known as Dust. Think of Dust as a tiny piece of nature's wrath given shape. An expression of pure magic with a physical form."

Lily's breath caught in her throat at that, imagining all the things she could use this 'Dust' for. It was commonly accepted to be impossible to create magic in a pure state; thousands had tried over the millennia to achieve such a thing and none had actually succeeded, as far as she knew.

"The second was the discovery of Aura manipulation. Semblances are inherently linked to Aura."

Remus leaned forward and asked "Aura?"

"The manifestation of the soul. Aura is an internal energy source that is fueled by a person's will, thoughts, and memories, everything that makes them who they are. Semblances are directly linked to Aura; think of it as a certain power a person will develop that is intrinsically tied to the quality of their metaphysical self."

"Eh?" Sirius squinted his eyes, struggling his way through the conversation. Lily snapped her fingers after a moment, her mind in full analyst mode.

"I think I get it. Say you are a very shy person, your Semblance might be something like the ability to turn invisible...right?"

Ozpin smiled and said "Precisely. I've known a few individuals that had a Semblance like that. Though it is also true that no two Semblances are completely alike; each person's power comes from their soul, after all, and every person is different."

Sirius and Remus were struggling to process what Ozpin had revealed to them, and Lily wasn't very far behind. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she asked "The third?"

"The third reason humanity survived was magic."

The entire attention of the room turned to Ozpin.

"I'm not entirely sure where the three of you come from, we can speak on that matter another time, but from your attitude, I can assume that magic users were rather uncommon there."

Three nods answered Ozpin's question.

"It is much the same here. Those who truly have the gift are few and far between. Even when a magic user exists, their power is often mistaken as being some form of unique Semblance. Hence why Qrow was unaware of my disposition as a wizard."

Sirius murmured under his breathe "No wonder. If people are walking around turning invisible on a daily, accidental magic isn't going to spark that much notice."

Ozpin heard his muttering and ignored it, continuing on speaking.

"Early magic users were an enormous boon to the various societies they found themselves in, simply because they could accomplish tasks that could not easily be done with Semblances or Dust. Wards, in particular, were of great help to mankind, though the Grimm developed a hefty resistance to them over time. However, as time went on, the wizards and witches of Remnant, never numerous in number, began dying out. Even I am not entirely sure why...though I do have my suspicions. In any case, the population of magic users fell until the point it is at today; fewer than a dozen trained magic users still exist in Remnant, of which I am one. I know not how many untrained wizards and witches exist out in the world, but I can't imagine there'd be more than a thousand."

Lily felt shocked to her core. Less than a thousand in the entire world? Such a number was unbelievable. What could have caused such a drastic decrease in the number of wizards and witches?

"The fourth reason?"

Ozpin coughed and said "I am afraid I must keep that one under wraps for now. My apologies, but that particular tale will have to wait for another time."

Lily frowned but decided not to push. Ozpin had been remarkably forthcoming thus far, she could allow him one secret.

Remus was the next to ask a question, leaning forward with a thoughtful expression.

"Is magic related to Aura in a similar way to Semblances? Can the two be combined? Where we came from...the study of the origin of magic was always inconclusive, but it was commonly known that a person's magic was linked to their soul."

Ozpin sipped at his coffee, smiling over the top of his cup and said "An excellent question, Mister Lupin. One which I do not know the whole answer to. A person's magic _is_ linked to their soul, and therefore, their Aura, but to my knowledge no one has ever succeeded at joining magic and a Semblance. For all intents and purposes, they are two mutually exclusive sources of power; one cannot be used to enhance the other. I am just an old man, however, and I do not know everything."

Sirius snorted and asked "Ah, another question...what do you mean by _old_? You can't be much more than thirty."

Ozpin's eyebrows rose and he said "Are you implying something, young man? In any case, things are not always as they appear to be. As to precisely why I do not look my age… that would also be a tale for another time."

Sirius rolled his eyes while Lily sighed. Ozpin shared a fair amount of personality quirks with Dumbledore, she had to admit, but overall he seemed much more straightforwards. He had answered most of their questions so far, and the ones that he didn't answer he at least gave them the courtesy of letting them know that he was deliberately keeping a secret.

Remus leaned forwards and pointed at his second set of ears before asking "One last question from me. Why do I have these?"

Ozpin blinked, glancing quickly up at the furry body parts.

"You mean you don't...you didn't have them before?"

Remus looked pained and said "No. I was...I was a werewolf before. Every full moon, I would transform into a rabid, senseless beast. It's a magical disease from our homeland."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed, observing Remus for a long moment. Lily saw the man stiffen, and wondered if he'd felt the wash of power this time. After the occurrence, Ozpin leaned back in his chair, eyes thoughtful.

"Whatever you were before, you are now a Faunus."

"Faunus?"

"A species native to Remnant. Humanoid in appearance, they are virtually identical to humans in every way, save for a few. All Faunus possess certain animal traits; ears, tails, eyes, some even have wings or horns. Their senses are generally sharper than humans; their night vision in particular is famous, as one of my professors is fond of reminding his students. They are really no different than humans...but as I'm sure you're aware, humanity isn't always welcoming of 'different'. The Faunus have suffered quite heavily for hundreds of years, and numerous wars have been fought along species lines. In fact, the latest Faunus War took place not more than twenty years ago."

Remus looked ill at the thought, and Lily couldn't blame him. While he may no longer transform into a beast, he had traded one downtrodden existence for another. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to comfort him. Remus offered her a weak smile in return.

Lily turned back to Ozpin and said "I have one last question; what was that, that surge of power?"

Ozpin tilted his head and said "Ah, I was wondering if you felt that. That was Aura sense; I simply perused your Aura to first ascertain if you did indeed have a magical core, then to check if Mister Lupin was a human or Faunus. It is an ability one gains through long hours of practice and meditation."

Lily's eyes narrowed.

"You looked at our souls?"

Ozpin held up his hands placatingly.

"In essence, yes, though it is not nearly as invasive as you may think it is. I do not gain any knowledge of your thoughts or memories, I simply have a vague impression of your personality, can see whether you are magical or not, and can identify what species you are. Faunus souls are the slightest bit different than human souls, and though I have never seen a werewolf soul before, I imagine it would not be a carbon copy of a Faunus soul."

Lily paused then nodded, still unsure but willing to take Ozpin's words at face value.

"Now, if there's anything else? Mister Black? Do you have a question?"

Sirius looked up, frowning. He took a moment to think and then asked "What are you thinking about doing with us. From your own words, wizards are incredibly rare in this...this new land. Are you planning on locking us up, experimenting on us for your own gain or something of the like?"

Ozpin took in the hardened faces of his visitors and shook his head firmly.

"Never. The right to freedom is one of the core values of our society, and has been even before the Great War more than sixty years ago. I simply wish to help, and perhaps convince you to lend your aid in return. Magic is a lost art in Remnant; I am skilled enough, but I am just one man who is more comfortable using his Semblance than his magic."

Lily blinked and half-smiled at the declaration. She could work with that. She tapped her chin and asked "Out of curiousity, what is your Semblance, Headmaster? You already pretty much admitted that the creation of the chairs was magic."

Ozpin smiled genially and said "Forgive an old man his secrets, but I think I'll keep this one as well. After all, I can't give away too much or it ruins the image of mystery I've spent years cultivating."

Sirius snorted and mumbled something under his breath, which Ozpin ignored.

"Regardless...I will have Glynda provide you with a temporary apartment and some basic funds. Just something to help you get on your feet, so to say. You can take up jobs in the city, or if you're interested, you could potentially try to earn your licenses as Huntsman and Huntresses. Ah, forgive me; I should explain that as well."

Sirius shrugged and said "Actually, that one is fairly self explanatory. Huntsman and Huntresses are the ones who fight Grimm, right?"

"Among other duties. Though that is their primary purpose, they also may serve as elite police units, military personnel, or even bounty hunters. After the Great War, it was agreed that the Huntsman and Huntresses would be free to choose their own paths in life without interference from governments or bureaucracy."

The trio nodded.

"Be warned though, the path of a Huntsman is often hard and dangerous. It would require years of training to even qualify for Beacon, followed by four more years here. We do offer separate classes for older students, such as yourselves, who wish to become Huntsman, though such students are fairly rare."

"It almost sounds like you're trying to recruit us."

Ozpin swished his coffee and shrugged.

"Whatever you choose is up to you. It is my professional opinion, though, that the three of you have a great amount of potential. If you wish to become a student at my school, I would gladly accept you. Now, would you kindly be on your way, I have some matters to discuss with Mister Branwen that are for his ears only. Glynda?"

"I'll see to it, Professor."

The trio rose up out of their seats and departed after the blonde, Lily casting a glance back at Ozpin and Qrow before the doors of the elevator closed. All in all, the meeting had gone far better than she'd dared hoped.

* * *

 **Aaaaand done. It is currently midnight. Hope you guys appreciate it.**

 **A few things here. One, yes, I am making Ozpin a wizard in the Harry Potter vein as well as a badass Huntsman. We all knew he was a Wizard though, right? Anyways, this will eventually tie in with the maidens and other parts of RWBY and HP lore, but you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Two, yes, Toto is a character now, though that is likely the last you will hear of him. Dorothy though...**

 **Tell me what you thought, leave a review or a favorite if you're willing, and I am going to sleep.**


	4. Chapter 4: Settling In

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **I got inspired and finished this early, yay! This chapter is also a bit info heavy, though more does happen as opposed to last chapter. Even though it's shorter...odd, that.**

 **I said it in Shades and I'll restate it here and in AfE. If anyone wants to draw fanart of this, I'd greatly appreciate it. These two stories need covers and I am not a good enough artists to do it.**

 **Send in your questions in a message or review and I'll answer them next chapter (as well as those from previous chapters)!**

* * *

 _Lord, what the hell am I doing here? -Nicholas D. Wolfwood_

. . .

As soon as they had reached the apartment, Lily withdrew the trunk from her satchel once again and returned it to its normal size. She came up within a minute, carrying Harry in her arms.

Sirius smiled tiredly and leaned down to kiss his godson's head, then promptly collapsed in an armchair.

"Well."

Remus sat down across from him and nodded, looking every bit as exhausted.

"Mmm."

Sirius ran a hand over his face, grimacing as he wiped away a fine layer of sweat and dirt.

"We're on another planet."

"Mhmm."

"Populated by Grimm...giant black monsters who ooze hate and malevolence and whose only purpose in life seems to be killing humans...and faunus."

Remus winced at the reminder of his new status and resisted the urge to run a hand over his new sensory organs. Lily rocked Harry back and forth while the gears of her mind whirled in thought.

"For right now, we need to get established. Set up shop, find someway to make money; there's a fairly substantial amount of Galleons in my trunk, but I'm not sure if they would accept our currency here."

Sirius sat up and asked "Wait...you're talking like you're planning on staying?"

Lily shifted Harry into a more comfortable position and shrugged.

"There's no way in hell I'm risking using the jumpkey again without more research, considering what happened. Even if it's possible to return to Earth, it might be months or years until I work out how to do so safely. Our arrival in Remnant was a fluke, a one in a thousand chance that resulted from conflicting magics. So yes...for right now, I'm planning on staying. It's not like we had many places to go, anyways."

Sirius' eyebrows scrunched together, and he asked "Well, what was the plan you two had for after you broke me out...thank you, again, by the way."

"Don't mention it, Padfoot." Remus said with a sigh "And as for the plan...well, we obviously couldn't stay in Britain. Lily and I _had_ decided to leave the country, maybe to America or the continent. The Potters had a few properties outside of the isles, as did the Blacks...but that's all in the past now."

Lily hummed, saying "Remnant has it's own set of dangers, but at least here we don't have to worry about being hunted down by Aurors or hired Hitwizards for breaking you out of Azkaban. That's...something, at least."

The three of them lapsed into silence, only broken when Harry started to sniffle. Lily stood up and strolled into the apartment's bedroom to take care of her son's needs, leaving the two men behind.

Sirius remained in thought for several minutes before shaking his head in resignation. If he had been transported to Remnant months ago, Sirius had no doubt that he would be panicking by now. Hell, he probably would be climbing the walls after finding out that they weren't on Earth anymore. But now...well, after everything that had happened over the past few weeks: James dying, Dumbledore's betrayal of their collective trust, the end of the war, and being sent to Azkaban...after everything, he just felt so done. The collective consciousness of everything, God, and Merlin could all go screw themselves, Sirius Black was fed up with being the chewtoy of the universe. He had no more shits left to give at the moment.

Mind made up, Sirius shrugged, accepted the unacceptable, and decided to move on with his life. Taking a deep sniff, Sirius decided that he needed to move on to one very specific place.

"Ugh, I need a bath."

Remus chuckled tiredly and responded "Well, I didn't want to say anything...but yeah, you do."

"Flea-bitten bastard."

"That's the best you could come up with?"

"Give me a break, Moony, it's been a very long day."

After Sirius left, the amusement left Remus' face, and he murmured to himself "Yes...yes it has."

. . .

Ozpin stood before his window, looking out on the city from Beacon Tower. From up here, everything seemed so small, insignificant. Like chess pieces just waiting to be moved. Ozpin frowned and mentally reprimanded himself. That was not a road of thought he would permit himself to entertain; people were not game pieces, and his actions had much further reaching consequences than a simple checkmate in a game. Actions like choosing to trust these newly appeared wizards.

The three were an interesting enigma. They were each strong, in their own way; he had gleaned that much from his perusal of their Aura. Sirius was a fighter and a clown rolled into one, full of determination and boundless spirit. He was the type of man to laugh in the face of death, one who could face impossible odds and come out on top by virtue of his sheer grit. His enthusiasm was tempered by some great suffering though, something recent, a dark stain on his soul that concerned Ozpin. Still...he would make a fine Huntsman if he chose that path.

The other man, Remus, was no less steadfast and loyal, though he had a much more peaceful disposition. He was thoughtful, introspective, and kind, overflowing with empathy. He too had his own tragedy, though his was an old pain, something he had suffered under for years. There was anger there as well, rage kept just below the surface of the skin of a mild mannered young man. If he learned to control it perhaps…

The red haired woman, Lily, was the most interesting of them all. She shined with the bright glow of hope and kindness, a truly honest soul (frankly, she reminded him of Summer). She was intelligent in a way that few were, always thinking, always analyzing. Ozpin wouldn't be surprised if she was a prodigy in whatever land she came from.

And there lay another question. Where were the mysterious magic users from? Qrow had spoken about the three before he left, voicing his suspicions about them being from a village outside of the Kingdoms; some backwater place where they had been completely isolated. However, Ozpin seriously doubted that was the case. During the course of their conversation, he had noticed that they really seemed to know...well, nothing about Remnant except for what they had heard from him or Qrow, even things that should have been common knowledge like the existence of Dust or Aura. He hadn't called them out at the time, though; right now, it was vital to build trust, and his own questions could wait.

So...the three of them likely weren't from Remnant. If that was true, Ozpin thought, there was likely only one possible place they could have come from, taking into account some of the aspects of their persons.

Striding over to his desk, Ozpin pushed a sequence of buttons, causing his monitor to appear above the clicking gears. The blank floating screen pulsed faintly as Ozpin entered in a code only he knew, delving into a series of files hidden on the Beacon servers.

Ozpin stared at the screen as he pulled up a picture he hadn't looked at in almost fifty years, softly speaking to himself.

"Perhaps...yes, I think they might be. It wouldn't be the first time a British wizard has found themselves in our world. Hmmm. How curious."

Closing out the screen, Ozpin smiled and poured himself another cup of coffee (with Glynda occupied helping the wizards settle in, there was no one present to cut him off from his private addiction). It was certainly going to be an interesting week.

. . .

The foursome of Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Harry all promptly crashed after cleaning themselves up some. They didn't awake until the next day (Harry still recovering from being under the effects of the _claudicatus_ charm for so long).

After waking and eating some food stocked in a refrigerator (Sirius and Remus were not nearly as ignorant of muggle culture as most other wizards, though even Lily admitted to being out of her depth with most of the technology they'd seen in Remnant), the group sat down to have a planning session.

"Ozpin seems like he's trustworthy, or at least, he hasn't overtly manipulated us yet. I think we can rely on him...for now." Lily said as she fed a gurgling Harry.

Remus nodded as he nibbled on a banana, unconsciously scratching his wolf ears.

"I agree. We can accept his aid. I think our first course of action should be information gathering; we can find a library, read up on as much of the local history as possible. We should also see if Ozpin can lend us any magical books he might have; I know he said there aren't many wizards left, but there should be _something_."

"About that." Lily wiped Harry's chin and took a bite out of her own breakfast "I've been thinking about our dilemma since last night...I don't think finding a way home should be our priority right now."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, then at Lily. Remus was the one to ask the question on both of their minds.

"Why?"

"We were always going to be in danger wherever we went back on Earth, whether it be from Hitwizards, ex-Death Eaters, or even Dumbledore himself. He might be a manipulative bastard, but he's anything but weak, and he's not stupid either. He would have found us eventually. But here...no one from Earth can follow us here. We don't have to worry about any of that...and yes, it's quite dangerous here as well. The Grimm, especially, worry me. There are an immense number of unknowns. But...there's opportunity in Remnant. Just think of all the things that Ozpin mentioned yesterday." Lily's eyes began to shine as she continued speaking. "A physical expression of magic! Think of the possibilities! The applications of Dust have to be limitless! I mean, I mean, it could even allow Muggles to utilize magic!"

Remus blinked, eyes widening.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm Sirius."

Remus smacked a hand over his face as Sirius burst out laughing. Lily, however, was too caught up in her impassioned speech to notice.

"It would be very limited use of magic, probably dependent on what form of Dust it was, but yes. With the right crystal, a Muggle could control the elements or levitate objects just as easily as a wizard could, at least until the magic of the crystal was depleted. Or maybe Dust burns away or dissolves…"

Remus cast an amused glance at Sirius and said "So, basically you want to stay in Remnant because of all the discoveries that could be made."

Lily smiled sheepishly.

"Yes?"

The two men shared a chuckle before sobering up.

"It would be worth investigating some of the more fascinating aspects of this world." Remus said as he finished off his banana. "Aura and Semblances, in particular, sound quite interesting to me. As do...as do the Faunus. I'll need to read up on my...new species." Remus' lip curled downwards in a grimace, and the other two chose not to comment.

Sirius kneaded his fingers together and said "I think I'll leave the theory to you two. As for me, I'd much prefer to be doing something rather than sitting in a dusty library or laboratory. If we're really going to be staying in this godforsaken place, I think I'd rather become a Huntsman."

Remus raised an eyebrow at that and asked "Really? I didn't think you'd be quite so enthusiastic to be a member of law enforcement, Padfoot, after spending a week in Azkaban."

Sirius frowned, a quick shudder passing through his body before he calmed himself.

"Not going to lie, it was hell in there. You two only felt it for a few minutes, but the cold seeps into your bones after a few days...I can't imagine what it would have been like to spend years there. But no...this is different. I may not want to join the Aurors anymore, but Huntsmen seem to be much more than just bobbies. Remember what Qrow said...they're the ones who keep places like Vale safe. This way...I can protect Harry. I can make up for going after Peter."

Lily sighed and said "Sirius, I don't blame you for that. You've never been the most...level headed of individuals. You shouldn't beat yourself up over what you did. If I hadn't been taking care of Harry…" Lily's face darkened as she hissed out "I would have killed that rat myself for what he did."

Remus nodded in agreement with Lily.

"Thank you...but this doesn't change my mind. You know I'm not the kind of man to sit around on my bum all day. I think...I think this'll be good for me."

"You know, if what Ozpin said is true, you might have to attend school again just to become a Huntsman?"

Sirius scowled, clearly not having remembered that tidbit of information.

"Maybe there's a way around that?"

. . .

"I must admit, I didn't actually expect any of you to volunteer so easily. Though, what you're asking for is rather unusual."

The threesome had decided to visit Ozpin after breakfast, Lily toting Harry along in a sling. To his credit, the man hadn't even blinked upon seeing the child, simply taking him in with the same calm acceptance he always displayed.

"I know, but I don't relish the thought of returning to school for another six or seven years...and besides, it's not like I'm helpless. I was training to become an Auror...erm, police officer...before...before...uh...what happened."

Ozpin cracked a miniscule grin as Sirius trailed off before saying "There are a few precedents. Certain skilled individuals in the Atlesian military who were substantially older than the normal entry age of seventeen; a man I once knew who lived most of his life outside the kingdoms; a pair of twins from Vacuo who've since become teachers at Shade. Those with exceptional skill and determination may ask to be trained by a single Huntsman or Huntress, rather than attend one of the Academies."

Sirius grinned widely.

"That sounds like what I'm looking for. Where do I sign up?"

"Mmm. I do hope you realize how hard such a path will be. There is a reason more people do not become a Huntsman's apprentice. You will be learning on the ground, surrounded by danger at all times. Beacon is by no means an easy school to become a student of, but it will be far more forgiving of any mistakes than a professional Huntsman. Do you think you have the courage and dedication to undertake such a trial?"

Sirius suddenly looked less sure of himself, but after a moment, he nodded.

"I want to be a Huntsman. I need to protect Lily, Remus, and Harry. Please."

"Your determination is admirable, but I am not the one you should ask. Apprenticeships are approved by the Huntsman alone after they witness your skills. If you truly are set on becoming an apprentice, you will need to find a Huntsman or Huntress willing to give you a chance. Be warned though, such individuals may be few and far between."

Sirius nodded, mollified.

"And what about you two?"

"Ah," began Lily "I was thinking about researching Dust. I'm...well, something of a prodigy in Charms and Potions, youngest witch of the century to get my mastery in Charms, in fact. If I can get my hands on some Dust...let's just say there's quite a few things I can make that might help against the Grimm."

Ozpin nodded and responded "An excellent idea. Sadly, research into the origins of Dust has proven to be quite inconclusive, and as it is intrinsically magical, it is rather hard for the scientists of Remnant to understand. If you'd like to pursue this and think it will bear fruit, I believe I can arrange for you to receive a monthly stipend for the purpose of research and experimentation. I should inform you that results will be expected within a period of three months, or I will be legally compelled to withdraw monetary support. Beacon's budget isn't limitless, and while I am granted a great deal of leeway by the Council, Lien that is spent must have an observable effect."

Lily nodded, a wicked grin spreading across her lips.

"Three months is more than enough time."

Ozpin turned to Remus, who said "Local history and technology were the two areas I wanted to study up on. It seems we're staying in Vale for the time being, and we'll need to know how to fit in with the people of the city. We're...somewhat out of our depth here, so my short turn plan is bring myself and these two up to speed on common knowledge. After that is taken care of, I suppose I'll want to look into Aura, but not until we're stable."

"A wise choice. You have a good head on your shoulders, young man. I can have Glynda provide you with some primers and textbooks to help you along with your study. I would advise you to learn how to use a scroll as soon as possible, as they do allow one to access most any information you desire."

Remus frowned and asked "But...magic and technology doesn't mix?"

Ozpin blinked, his neutral expression slipping in favour of directing a questioning look at Remus.

"They don't? Hmmm...I've never noticed any problems before. Is this a common issue in your homeland?"

All three wizards nodded, silently glad that Ozpin seemed to be avoiding asking about Britain.

"It's pretty much accepted that Muggles items don't interact well with magic. They might work for a few days, but eventually, magic will short them out."

Ozpin stroked his chin.

"I wonder...as you've never heard of Dust, I can assume such a thing did not exist where you came from."

Again, there were three nods.

"Perhaps...this is just a theory, but the 'Muggle' devices were run purely by mundane means, while all technology in Remnant is powered by Dust."

Lily's eyes widened comically.

" _Everything_!?"

"Everything. From cars to weapons to streetlights, Dust is the energy source that makes life in Remnant possible. And if every bit of technology is powered by Dust, then obviously, your own magic shouldn't pose a problem."

Remus swore he felt a foreboding feeling wash over him; it was almost as if Lily was cackling internally, exuding the aura of a mad scientist with a new toy. Merlin help them all.

. . .

After their meeting with Ozpin concluded, the three wizards retreated back to their new apartment to begin studying up on the new world they found themselves in. Or at least, it started out that way. Sirius soon grew bored and teamed up with Lily to decorate and renovate the small apartment with judicious use of magic and items dragged out of Lily's trunk, leaving Remus behind to do the boring reading.

After several hours, the two room apartment had changed drastically. On the surface, it didn't seem that different; there was a fresh coat of Gryffindor red paint on the walls, the furniture had changed to become larger and comfier, there was a new rug on the floor. The only oddity an average visitor would notice (if they were able to notice it at all due to the charms layered upon the doorframe) was the presence of a door that, logically, would simply lead into empty space outside of the building. Opening this door, however, revealed an entire other building's worth of space. There was a trio of bedrooms, a playroom, a more traditional wizarding kitchen, and the beginnings of a Wizard's laboratory, complete with a brewing stand and a shelf of books. Magic was, in Sirius' opinion, truly a wonderful thing.

Remus, meanwhile, had found himself fiddling with one of the 'scrolls' that Ozpin mentioned. The man had recommended they familiarize themselves with the technology of this world. Remus found himself amazed by the little device; back on Earth before they left, a digital watch had been considered quite high tech, and mobile phones were simply brick sized telephones. This tiny sliver of metal though...not only could it function as a phone, it was actually able to pull information from some sort of ethereal library called the 'scrollnet'. Or at least, that was roughly how Remus understood it (though he was more up to date than most wizards, Remus knew there were many Muggle technologies that he didn't know anything about).

It was a struggle to learn how to utilize such a device, but Remus Lupin was not one to back down from a challenge. Whether it was attending Hogwarts while a werewolf or scheming with his best friend's wife to break his other best friend out of prison, he would always give his very best. He would master this device.

Though he did briefly consider stopping after accidentally opening up a 'scrollsite' called 'FaunusXXX'. He wasn't a prude by any means, but wizarding culture wasn't exactly liberal, and those Faunus were _very_ naked.

Their work done for the moment, Sirius and Lily flopped down next to Remus.

"I think that's enough for right now. How goes the research, Moony?"

Remus coughed, race still a little red, which thankfully went unnoticed by the other two.

"Quite well, though I'm afraid we have our work cut out for us. There's an entire _world's_ worth of knowledge to slog though. So far, I've manage to cover some of the more basic facts and tentatively learn to operate the scroll like Ozpin suggested."

Sirius grinned cheekily and said "Fill me in then."

"Is this really going to be like back in Hogwarts when we were students? I can't always act as your walking cheat sheet, Padfoot."

Sirius whined in protest until Remus relented, rubbing his temples.

"Fine, you pathetic parcel of fur. The first thing to know is that the currency here is called Lien; I think the Headmaster mentioned it back in his office. It's not gold or silver, or even paper like the Muggle pounds or euros we know. It's a small, hard card that has a magnetic strip. It comes in values of one, five, ten, twenty, and a hundred, and each one is coloured differently, so the difference is easy to tell. There's also a special 'cent' card that represents fractions of Lien; it is refilled or depleted as you make purchases, and if it runs out, you can easily ask any teller to put more money on it."

Sirius blinked twice, trying to figure out the system.

"That's...remarkably straightforwards."

"It is."

"You're sure there's no 17 sickles to a Galleon or 29 Knuts to a Sickle...nothing like that?"

"Nope."

"...huh."

Lily rolled her eyes and asked "What else did you find out?"

"A lot. Even though they're called 'kingdoms', the four kingdoms are really more like Grecian or Roman city-states. They each have a civic council that is elected from the populace that holds most of the power, while each kingdom's military is comprised of citizens and is subservient to the council. Military service is mandatory for citizens in Atlas and Mistral, though only for two years, and Huntsmen are exempt. Luckily for us, military service in Vale is optional, so that's one less thing he have to worry about."

Remus paused and closed his scroll before continuing.

"Other than that, I read up on some of the history. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Mantle have each existed for at least five hundred years, though the city state of Mantle is largely defunct now, with only the Atlas Huntsman Academy and some of the surrounding area safe. There have been a number of wars fought over that period, though the bloodiest was the great war of X792."

"Wha?"

Remus chuckled.

"You didn't really think they'd have the same calendar as us? The current date in Remnant is X857."

Sirius groaned from his chair, mumbling complaints.

"And I'm expected to learn all of this stuff? Merlin, this is going to be hard."

Remus' eyes crinkled in amusement as he laughed.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before asking about becoming one of the elite warriors of this world. Speaking of which, do you have any plans about how to go about getting an apprenticeship?"

Sirius shrugged, responding "Hell if I know. I had assumed I could just find one and try to dress up my magic as a fancy Semblance."

"That sounds…"

"...like a horrible plan."

Sirius glared at Lily and Remus, who were both giving him looks of bemusement.

"Ok, so maybe it isn't the most well thought out strategy, but there is no way in hell I'm going to school with a bunch of seventeen year olds."

Remus snorted at the mental image and added "Very well...how many Huntsman do we actually know?"

Sirius answered "One. Qrow...Qrow? You want me to ask Qrow?"

Remus shrugged and said "He knows about magic now, so you don't need to dress it up as anything else. From what I gathered, he's very good at what he does, and he doesn't have a partner at present. While you two were decorating, I read up on the Huntsmen; they're put into teams of four, two pairs of partners, upon entering the academies, and often they stay together even after graduation. Qrow is a skilled Muggle, and he's a Huntsman, so he could teach you, while you can contribute everything you know as a wizard to his missions. Plus...well, we weren't around him for too long, but he seems like the kind of man you would get along with."

Sirius steepled his fingers in thought.

"Hmmm...Qrow. That...that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Years later, Lily and Remus would point to this moment as the proverbial 'one that started it all'. The beginning of the infamous partnership Black Qrow.

* * *

 **Couple things here.**

 **Yes, the apprenticeship thing is totally made up. I think it makes sense though. Qrow did say that every day out in the field is worth a week at Beacon. If someone has the skills to keep up with a Huntsman, why not let them apprentice with one to become official?**

 **And yes, Black Qrow is going to be a thing. No, it is not going to be a romantic thing. I have someone else in mind to ship with Qrow. No spoilers.**

 **Lastly, yes, the date is also something I made up. It makes no sense for it to be 1981 as well in Remnant, and I thought I'd take a page from anime's book and make the date with an X. It gives it an element of mystery.**


	5. Chapter 5: Aura

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **If anyone wants to beta this fic, and/or my other two, I would appreciate the help.**

 **I said I would answer your questions, so here goes.**

 **Berna45 asked: was wondering if Harry & Pyrrha could be paired together?**

 **This question (and two or three more like it) brings up an interesting point that I don't think I've told the general public yet. This fic is not about Harry Potter. Yes, Harry will be in it, but he's going to be a wee ickle babby and won't have any serious sections devoted to him. Harry and all of his adventures in Remnant will not begin until the sequel to this fic, which the presumptive title for is Harry Potter and the World of Remnant, which will detail his Signal and Beacon years. This fic, Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant, is about** _ **Lily Potter**_ **, along with Sirius and Remus, and how they adapt to life in Remnant. It will span a period of roughly ten years, from their arrival until Harry goes off to Signal, and it will focus on Lily, Sirius, Remus, Ozpin, Qrow, and everyone else of the older generation. So, stop asking me who Harry is going to be shipped with, because the answer is no one, because he is not going to be old enough!**

 **Manic Archmage asked: Are you going to unlock their auras? Or would it be too difficult to create the semblances?**

 **All three wizards will have their Aura unlocked and will all gain Semblances (eventually). Anything else would be spoilers.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 _The natural enemy of the strong is the weak, but the natural enemy of the weak is not the strong - it is the ones that are even weaker. -Sora_

. . .

"Now try this one."

Qrow and Sirius sat in an out of the way speakeasy somewhere in downtown Vale, both of them clutching shots of Ember Ale in hand. The Beowolf Den, as it was called, was apparently one of Qrow's favourite watering holes in Vale, and Sirius was beginning to understand why. According to Qrow, it was one of the only bars in the city that sold Dust infused liquor (something that was highly illegal, apparently) to customers in the know, and Qrow happened to be one of their regulars. After Sirius had confronted the young Huntsman and explained the situation, Qrow had agreed to hear him out, but professed a need for a stout drink, offering Sirius one as well. As a man of discerning tastes, Sirius Black had accepted.

After sampling a shot of Jotun's Vodka (which was infused with Ice Dust and was cold enough to cause damage to the stomach if too much was drank at once), Sirius was hooked. Firewhiskey, say hello to your new competitor.

Swirling the Ember Ale, Sirius took a sip, feeling the burning sensation of small chunks of Fire Dust rushing down his throat and settling into his stomach. Suddenly, Sirius hunched over, an unpleasant pressure building in his gut before he doubled over and spewed out a massive cloud of steam.

Qrow chuckled at the predicament Sirius found himself in, white wisps trailing out of his mouth as well.

"That one's called the Frostburn combo. You probably shouldn't do that twice in one day until you've got your Aura unlocked, it can be hell on the stomach if you ain't got any protection."

Coughing, Sirius righted himself, small puffs still escaping from his mouth.

"I'll say! Merlin, man, that was worse than any moonshine I've ever had. I think I'm about ready to hack up a lung."

"Guess you won't be doing that a second time, eh?"

"Hell no, I've gotta try that again. I don't know why I never thought of mixing enchanted drinks like that."

Qrow sniggered, watching the other inhabitants of the bar out of the corner of his eyes.

"Two things: You passed the first test of being my apprentice, so well done."

Sirius coughed out the last bit of steam and raised an eyebrow, asking "So you wouldn't let me train under you unless I could hold my liquor?"

"Hey, since Tai got married and semi retired I don't have a drinking buddy any more. You seem like an upstanding guy with good taste. Why not?" Qrow threw a few Lien onto the bar and nodded to the bartender before standing up, Sirius following.

The wizard grinned, cracked his neck and asked "Fair enough. What was the second thing?"

Qrow hummed as they exited the speakeasy, not answering. When the door closed behind them, Qrow suddenly lashed out, pulling them both into an alleyway and pinning Sirius against the wall. He stuck a blade underneath the other man's throat, the cold steel pressing against Sirius' neck, almost drawing blood. Sirius froze in shock before realizing that Qrow had pinned his wand arm down, rendering him next to helpless. He was about ready to Apparate away and ask Qrow what the hell he was playing at, but was interrupted by Qrow talking.

"Two, if you're gonna be travelling with me, you gotta learn to watch your mouth...among many other things. I know you're all thrown out of whack by being in a new world, but magic ain't exactly common news around here, or didn't you hear Ozpin? If I were you, I wouldn't be going on about shit like 'enchanted drinks' if you want to keep your secret a _secret_."

Sirius' eyes widened. He had forgotten; for some reason, drinking alcohol that was so clearly magical (not that the native inhabitants of Vale knew that) had caused him to lower his guard. It was a stupid mistake to make, one that probably didn't endear him to Qrow.

Qrow continued on, saying "You're gonna have to do better Black. I ain't an easy man to follow after. Hell, I've probably been on more suicide missions that any Huntsman in the past decade. You seem like a decent guy, Sirius. You should go back home with that pretty redhead and that bookish Faunus schmuck, live the quiet civilian life. Maybe you can open your own bar or research with your pals. Cuz if you stay with me...you're gonna have to be at your very best. One mistake, one more fuck up like that out on a mission, and you'll probably die. Got it?"

Sirius nodded minutely, not wanting to cut himself on the knife. It would be hard enough to explain to Lily why he smelled like a bar.

Qrow, having sheathed the knife faster than Sirius could follow, gave him a quick once over.

"Meet me outside the city at nine o'clock tonight, the same gate where we came in. Consider finding your way back there your second test. Oh, and no magic; learn to read a map. It's an essential skill for any Huntsman."

Without another word, Qrow strolled off, hands sunk deep into his pockets. Sirius rested against the wall for several moments before grumbling under his breath.

"And I thought Mad-Eye Moody was bad. Shit...well, can't back out now, I guess."

. . .

Lily Potter sat on the edge of her mattress, crying. Remus was holed up in his room, reading on his scroll (his main activity for the past two days), Sirius was out talking to Qrow, and Harry was asleep, so she had allowed herself this moment to grieve. James' death was still so terribly close, but the pain of her husband's passing was usually buried underneath the shell of steel that Lily had built around herself. She had to be strong for Harry, and Sirius and Remus, and for James most of all...but she would allow herself time when no one else was around. Times like this.

So she wept, pouring out all of the sorrow that had building up inside since she had heard of the attack on Halloween night. After fifteen minutes, the tears finally stopped rolling down her face, and her weeping devolved into sniffles. Wiping her eyes with a tissue, she blew her nose and stood up, leaving to check on Harry.

Her precious baby boy had weathered the aftereffects of the stasis charm and had returned to his normal cheery, baby self. He still asked for Dada quite often, but the presence of Unca Moo'y and Pa'foo' had assuaged him, for the most part. Thankfully, her brief trip to Azkaban and the journey to Remnant hadn't seemed to change him any way (she had been concerned that if Remus had changed, it might extend to Harry as well, but her fears had been unfounded. None of her scans could determine anything that had changed in the boy).

Peeking into the newly furnished nursery, Lily saw that he had woken up and was standing up inside of his crib.

"Hey there. You wake up?"

"Yah! Mah!"

Lily laughed and picked her son up, kissing his forehead and rubbing her finger over the oddly shaped scar that was there. She had made a habit out of that since taking him back from Dumbledore; for whatever reason, the scar worried her. It still hadn't healed completely, still standing out against his skin, as ugly and red as a fresh cut.

Lily frowned. Was it possible that it was a curse wound? None of her scans had shown anything; then again, they had all been medical scans, showing only physical abnormalities. If the scar was truly cursed from whatever dark spell Voldemort had used (Lily still wasn't sure if she believed it had been the Killing Curse), then it would only show up in a magical scan. Lily sighed deeply; scanning one's magic was decidedly more difficult than simply scanning one's body. She had learnt her fair share of medicinal magic and spellwork, but examining a magical core was outside of her department. And just her luck, there was likely no one else in the world who could perform—

Wait...yes there was. Lily set Harry down to play as she considered the idea that had popped into her head. Ozpin had used that...Aura Sight? Aura Sense? Something like that. He was one of the few trained wizards in Remnant, and the only one that she knew personally. He would likely be able to help.

The only problem was that Lily didn't know if she could trust him.

Talking to Ozpin before had been a matter of necessity. They had been new in this world and had needed information desperately. This...this was different. Could she trust Ozpin enough to have him take a look at her son?

Part of her told her no. Despite the man's straightforward answers, he still reminded her of Dumbledore. She knew that he likely had his own plans for her little family, plans that might put herself or others at risk. If she exposed Harry to him, she would be showing weakness to another potential manipulator.

Then again...he hadn't made any of the same mistakes Dumbledore had (yet) and seemed like a much more competent person all around. Lily snorted, thinking that was only natural; Ozpin ran a school for elite warriors. He couldn't afford to bumble around like Dumbledore, pretending to be senile. He was eloquent, thoughtful, and most importantly, he had been honest with her so far. And she _needed_ to know if something was wrong with Harry.

Lily turned her attention to her son as Harry toppled over the small tower of colour changing blocks that he had been building.

"What do you think I should do, little guy?"

"Eh?"

Lily smiled as Harry crawled towards her and pulled himself upright using her knees.

"Do you think we should go see Professor Ozpin?"

"Ozzpee?"

Lily snickered, filing the babyish nickname away fro later.

"Mhmm, Ozzpee. Do you want to go see him?"

"Yah!"

Lily tickled her son's chin and nodded to herself. She would extend Ozpin this trust. Hopefully, it wouldn't backfire into her face.

. . .

"Ah, Miss Potter. How have you been these past two days?"

"Quite well, thank you. We've just been settling in."

Ozpin picked up a silver coffee pot sitting on his desk and poured himself a fresh cup, steam wafting out of the porcelain container.

"I understand that Mister Black has approached Qrow about the apprenticeship. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Birds of a feather and all that."

Lily smiled, agreeing with the Headmaster. Qrow and Sirius did seem to have rather similar personality types.

"He _is_ the only Huntsman we know besides yourself, and he knows about magic. It was an easy decision on Sirius' part. That isn't why I am here today, however. I'm here because of Harry."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, attention zeroing in on the child that was currently crawling up the side of his desk.

"Yes, the child. I don't remember him appearing during our first meeting. Might I ask where he was during that time?"

"You may ask, but I doubt you'll get an answer." Lily said. She wasn't ready to trust Ozpin that far yet; for all she knew, keeping a child in a trunk was punishable by death in Vale no matter the circumstances. Until Remus learned more about the laws of the city, she would refrain from talking about that particular bit of info.

Ozpin took it in stride, gently batting Harry's hands away from the coffee pot.

"And what is it you are seeking from me for young Harry, Miss Potter?"

Lily's face tightened as she steeled herself. The moment of truth had arrived.

"I want you to look at his soul like you did ours."

Both of Ozpin's eyebrows shot up before furrowing in thought. His amber eyes flicked over the small boy who had lost interest in Ozpin's coffee pot and was currently gnawing on the edge of his desk.

"I assume if I asked why this was necessary you would refrain from answering?"

"You would assume correctly. A story for another time."

Ozpin's lips quirked minutely at hearing his words parroted back at him, and he responded "Very well. I don't see any harm in it."

Lily Potter watched closely as Ozpin's eyes unfocused slightly before snapping towards her son with an almost uncanny clarity. Harry stiffened just as she and Remus had when they were examined, his tiny eyes looking around to spot the source of the disturbance. The examination seemed to drag on for hours, concerning Lily with its length. Did Ozpin really need to examine him for so long?

With a sigh, Ozpin leaned back; Lily could see a tightness in his jaw that had not been there before. He turned his eyes towards her, and she saw a deep sea of emotions swirling in them that weren't normally present.

"Miss Potter...forgive me for asking again, but I would very much like to know what happened to your son to cause this."

Lily felt panic clawing it's way into her heart. What was wrong with Harry? What had those bastards done to him!?

"What is...what do you mean what happened to him?"

Ozpin frowned, turning his eyes back to the child and said "His soul is much like any other child's, bright and small and utterly innocent. Children have yet to gain much in the way of personality at this age, but I can already tell he will be a sweet and kind boy. He has a powerful magical core as well, you might be pleased to note, one of the strongest I've ever seen...but there is something attached to his soul. Some...dark parasite, an ethereal tumor, I suppose you'd say. I must confess, I've never even heard of such a thing. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would think it to be impossible."

Lily's throat constricted.

"A parasite? Can you remove it? Is it hurting him? What is he—"

"Calm yourself, Miss Potter. It may not be as bad as you are imagining. Yes, the parasite is there, but it does not seem to be harming him, for the moment at least. And given that it is attached to his core, I imagine there is a very easy way to destroy the parasite."

Lily swallowed her fear. The fact that there was a solution was enough to drive away the rampant fears that had raged through her mind from hearing Ozpin's diagnosis.

"How?"

"Aura."

Lily tilted her head, momentarily confused.

"How exactly would Aura help?"

"Mmm...I know you are still unlearned about many of the technicalities of life in Remnant, so it is not unexpected for you not to know. I explained that Aura is the manifestation of the soul and that Semblances are powered by it, but there is much more to Aura than that. Aura is not simply a power source. In its raw state, Aura can be used to shield oneself or others. It can heal minor wounds or negate damage altogether, and it can be used to strengthen items to be far stronger than they normally are. Take, for example, this piece of paper."

Ozpin picked up a small square of paper off of his desk. He flexed it, showing how bendy it was.

"In its normal state, paper would make a rather terrible weapon. But, if I extend my Aura outwards into the paper…"

Ozpin suddenly flicked his fingers, sending the piece of paper flying. It buried itself in the floor, not bending in the slightest.

"...I can make it as strong as steel."

Lily's eyes shone as ideas began popping into her head like so many kernels of popcorn. The things she could do with this new information! After a moment, she reigned in her curiosity enough to ask Ozpin another question; she was here for Harry, not herself, damn it!

"So...Aura can be used to protect the soul as well as the body?"

"Correct. It _does_ come from the soul, after all. That is the main duty of one's Aura; to shield your heart and soul from harm. Aura is protective in nature. I may not know how that parasite became attached to your son, but unlocking his Aura should get rid of it very quickly, especially given his powerful core. It would, however, be beneficial to wait until he is at least two years old, as unlocking his Aura before then might have adverse effects."

Lily paused, frowning. As eager as she was to rid her son of this dark taint of Voldemort's, she did not want to harm him while doing it.

"But he _should_ be ready to unlock his Aura when he is two?"

"That is the earliest approved age, yes. In Vale, the standard age to unlock one's Aura is ten, the year before children may apply to one of the many combat schools in the city. Atlas typically unlocks one year earlier, Vacuo two years earlier, and Mistral one year later. Parents and guardians may unlock it before that time, but two is the absolute minimum."

"I see…"

Lily scooped Harry off of the floor and settled him on her lap, scrutinizing the scar for several seconds before turning to Ozpin.

"I...suppose that is the best we're going to get. As long as it isn't harming Harry...I can wait a year to unlock his Aura. Thank you."

"You are welcome, Miss Potter. If you ever need to talk again...please, don't hesitate to ask."

Lily nodded and made to walk to the elevator, Harry held in her arms. Before she pressed the button to open the doors, she turned her head and said "Less than two months ago, Harry and my husband were attacked in our home by a dark wizard named Voldemort. He killed James and used a Dark spell on my son. I am...hazy on some of the details myself, I admit. But...whatever that man did is the reason Harry has that... _thing_...attached to his core. I...hope that answers your question."

Ozpin didn't respond, choosing to take in the information silently. When Lily Potter left, he settled back into his chair to think, his only companion the constant ticking of the many gears in his office.

. . .

Several hours later and a fair distance away from the city, Sirius Black collapsed onto his back for a quick breather. After finding a local map and hitching a ride from a friendly local out of downtown, he had walked the rest of the way to gate, arriving half an hour before the specified time. Qrow had showed up soon after and complimented him on doing what any idiot child could and promptly moved on to the next test. Sirius had thought that Auror training would be enough to prepare him for whatever Qrow was going to throw at him. He was wrong. He had been woefully unprepared for the onslaught of trials that had followed.

Qrow had run him ragged through the forest and over hills, shouting at him to keep up. When Qrow told him to climb a tree, he did (an action that had likely saved his life several times during the night, as Grimm stalked the forest in search of prey). When Qrow told him to fight a Grimm using magic, he did (the spells he used were up to him, though Qrow constantly called out advice on how to best kill each Grimm). When he had briefly complained about not being able to Apparate, Qrow had asked what that was, then had asked him to Apparate as quickly as he could from one location to another. Just to test the limits of the technique.

Sirius tensed as he heard a rustle nearby, deciding to transform into his Animagus form. Qrow had mentioned offhand that Grimm often didn't care about animals as long as they didn't wander onto their turf, and Sirius hoped that any Ursa or Beowolf that happened across him would overlook a large black dog.

Sirius' caution turned out not to be needed, as the rustling noise revealed itself to be coming from Qrow.

"Hey, Black, where you hiding at? We've got moonlight burning here."

Sirius groaned internally, briefly contemplating staying down. He was battered, bruised, and exhausted in a way he hadn't been since the harshest battles of the war. But still...he _had_ chosen this, and if there was one thing Sirius Black did not do, it was go back on his word to his friends.

Sirius rolled over and started standing up (a feat that was much easier when one had four limbs). He stopped upon hearing the telltale _snick_ of a weapon being drawn. Looking around, Sirius found a meter of cold metal resting inches away from his nose. The sword was connected to a hand, which was in turn connected to a frowning Qrow.

"Huh...odd to see a dog out here. What're you doing so far away from the city, boy?"

Very slowly, Sirius backed away until he was out of striking range; he didn't want his teacher to lop his head off when he changed.

Unfortunately, Qrow still very nearly killed him upon seeing the large, black dog shift forms to become Sirius. The smoking hole that appeared next to his head was rather close for comfort and had Sirius scrambling out of the way.

"I swear, it's like you're _trying_ to kill me!"

Qrow lowered his arm and rolled his eyes.

"Next time, maybe consider warning me before you pull off another weird wizarding trick. You should've told me you could turn into a dog sooner, that's a damn useful tidbit to know. Heh...what I wouldn't kill to be able to do something like that."

Sirius grimaced, still on edge from almost being shot.

"Becoming an Animagus isn't all that hard...for a wizard at least. It doesn't work for Muggles...although...well, I'm not exactly sure if it would work on you or not. Aura and magic and all that shit is for Lily and Remus to figure out."

Qrow cocked an eyebrow.

"Animagus? Hmmm...interesting. Ya just get one form?"

"It's supposed to be your spirit animal or something...so yeah." Sirius' face suddenly lit up in amusement "I bet if it does work your form will be a crow."

"Two hundred Lien says you're wrong."

"You're on."

The smile that had been on Qrow's face vanished, and he crossed his arms.

"Buuut bets will have to wait. We still have seven hours before the sun rises. Let's see you move those shanks, bub. Doubletime, no Apparating! If I see you slacking, I'm leaving you out here to be eaten by a Deathstalker!"

Sirius groaned, silently vowing to one day pull the ultimate prank on Qrow. He wasn't sure what exactly that prank would entail, but it would need to be big. Something big enough to make up for this hell that he was going through.

. . .

The sun was just peeking above the horizon when Qrow called a halt to the test. Sirius collapsed against a tree, every inch of his body bone tired and drenched in sweat.

"Suh...So...how did I...How'd I do?"

Qrow leaned back against a different tree, not even looking winded.

"Well...your physique is pretty shit. You reaction time could use some work, and your endurance is just plain awful."

Sirius groaned, slumping down even further.

"But, I think it's workable. Most of that stuff will improve dramatically once we unlock your Aura, and the rest of the slack can be taken up by some good old fashioned training. So yeah...congratulations on passing test number three. Honestly didn't expect you to make it this far, bub."

Propping himself up on an elbow, Sirius managed to gasp out "Unlock...my Aura? You can do that...for me?"

The other man shrugged and said "Ozpin's got his Aura unlocked and he's a wizard. Should be fine, right?"

"Just...let me catch my breath...cockbite."

"Ya see, this is why I like you. You've got fire in ya. Pity that spitfire attitude won't be enough to keep you alive while on a mission. I'll be sure to put some roses on your funeral casket after you kick the bucket. Maybe even write a eulogy. Something stirring, poetic...ah, hell, I can just ask Summer to write it, she's good with shit like that."

Sirius groaned, not gracing him with a response. After several minutes of lying down, he finally found the strength to rise into a sitting position.

"How the hell do we do this?"

Qrow grabbed his arm and pulled him fully up off the ground, the wizard groaning as his sore muscles protested. The Huntsman then spun Sirius until they were facing each other.

"Right, it's very simple. I'll say the incantation and provide the Aura. You just stand there. If you start feeling pain, deal with it like a man. If you can't do that, squeal like a little bitch, then I can laugh about it over a drink later."

"Merlin, I hate you."

Chuckling, Qrow placed his right hand flat over Sirius' heart, using his other hand to grasp the man's shoulder.

"Take a deep breathe and close your eyes."

Sirius grit his teeth but did as instructed, saying "You better not kiss me."

"Shut the hell up Black, you're not that attractive."

After Sirius closed his eyes, Qrow took a moment to center himself, pulling on his own Aura in the process. With a grace that came from long years of practice, Qrow sent his Aura spiralling outwards, his essence intertwining with Sirius' as it searched for the other man's soul.

" _In the darkness of night, only one star will remain. The light of thine soul shall be the guide. Its power, thine shield. Its strength, thine resolve. Waver not, for life is fleeting, and eternity awaits for those who accept it. I release thine soul, and by mine shoulder protect thee._ "

Sirius felt a strange rush. It was almost as if his magic, always contained within his core, was flooding throughout every inch of his body. It raced down his every nerve, leaping into his bones and spreading across his muscles. He felt rejuvenated, as if he had just woken up from a long nap rather than having spent the night running around a forest battling monsters. In fact, he felt better than he could ever remember feeling; lighter, stronger, and more powerful. Sirius gasped at the sensation, opening his eyes to find out that he was glowing with a strong golden light.

"Merlin and Morgiana...that's a rush."

Qrow had moved back and was watching the whole display, his arms resting behind his head.

"Huh, guess it worked after all. That's test number four done."

Sirius looked up in amazement as the glow died. He felt like a new man.

"That...I mean...holy shit."

Qrow chuckled, and said "Yep. First time feeling your Aura is always something special. It's like the one limb you never knew you had and the sense you never knew you needed all rolled into one, then suddenly it gets dropped on you and...mmm, how to describe it...closest thing to a religious experience I've ever had. Not really the kinda guy to praise Oum all the time, so you can see how much it affected me."

Sirius shook his head, still struggling to take in every change in his body and mind. Now that his Aura was unlocked, he could feel it resting just below the surface, ready to shield him if necessary. Sirius suddenly grinned and whooped, taking off at a flat sprint. He was running faster than he ever thought possible, leaping over branches and fallen trees with an ease that could put an Olympic athlete to shame...or he was until one of his feet snagged on a crook and he face planted onto the ground. The impact was jarring, but to Sirius' amazement, he didn't feel hurt from it at all.

Climbing to his feet, Sirius dusted himself off, suddenly mindful of Qrow sniggering behind him.

"Nice moves, Black. Kudos. Ya ready for test number six?"

Sirius turned back, a wide grin on his face.

"Hell, I'm ready for whatever you throw at me. What's next?"

"Weapon's testing. No way in hell you're using just that little stick of wood. If you're gonna be a Huntsman, ya need a proper weapon."

Sirius' grin widened even more.

"Bring it on."

* * *

 **I have this strange feeling that criminals everywhere in Remnant are getting chills.**

 **I really love writing the interactions between Qrow and Sirius. They are both such damaged assholes who are at the same time loving uncles. They're a match made in...well not heaven, but somewhere. And let me reiterate for anyone who didn't catch it last time, they are just going to be bros. I have ships in mind for both of them.**

 **Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you think Sirius' weapon should be. So far, the only candidate I have is a revolver (shoutout to gonewind321, that dude knows how to leave a quality review)**


	6. Chapter 6: Along came a Bunny

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **I blame gonewind321 for making me do this new chapter so soon, his stupidly long and wonderful reviews give me so many ideas.**

 **I apologise that Remus hasn't had much time devoted to him, chapter seven has a rather large chunk about his own experiences (also Lily, and the two of them finally meet with the Xiao Long/Rose family, so yay! Look forwards to that!)**

 **Enjoy reading!**

* * *

 _I understand now. The world is not cut from the same cloth. It is because it is overflowing with inexplicable, unidentifiable things that the world is so beautiful. —Satsuki Kiryuin_

 **. . .**

Sirius Black hefted the enormous broadsword in his hands, gave it an experimental swing, and almost ended up removing his foot from his ankle as the blade proved too unwieldy for him to handle.

"Ok, maybe something a bit lighter."

"Yeah, not a great look on you. Try a gunsaber."

Sirius caught the replacement sword, examining it with a critical eye. True to his word, Qrow had taken the two of them to go weapon shopping. Traditionally, a Huntsman would either forge their own weapon before graduating from combat school or use one gifted to them by a previous generation. The whole process was rather the opposite to the process of choosing a wand.

And after nearly two hours of trawling through a weapon shop in the commercial district of Vale, Sirius was missing Ollivander's method of doing things. Sure, the old man was creepy, but procuring a wand seldom took more than half an hour, even for the 'difficult' customers. Making his own weapon to hunt Grimm with was beginning to look more and more attractive.

Sirius grimaced, giving the saber a halfhearted swing.

"It's workable, but I really don't think a...what'd you call it? Mecha-shifting weapon, that's it. I don't think I'm a good fit for those. I just want the one weapon, something simple, but effective. And also...I've already got my…'staff'...which has a medium range. I think it'd be beneficial to have something for close range fights."

Qrow squinted at the long rack of swords, axes, guns, and more that the shop sold, placing the saber back after Sirius handed it to him. He scratched the top of his head, thinking.

"You want something simple, non mecha-shifting, and effective at close quarters Grimm fighting?"

"Mmhmm. And preferably some kind of sword. They're the only weapon here I have any actual training in."

Qrow scratched his ever present stubble, his nails scritching along the whiskers. After a moment, he snapped his fingers, signalling his epiphany.

"You know, I think I know where to find just the thing. Come on."

Sirius followed after Qrow as the Huntsman strode off, moving at a formidable and determined rate. The two of them exited the weapons shop, Sirius struggling to keep pace with Qrow's longer legs. After several minutes, the duo exited the commercial district altogether, their path leading them through into the industrial side of Vale.

Sirius frowned as he looked around, then asked in a concerned tone "Where the hell are we going?"

"There's an old weapon shop on the shady side of town." began Qrow "Hard as all hell to find, and not very well known, but it carries some of the best antique blades and guns in the kingdom. You said you knew your way around swords…"

"Yes. Most male members of my family trained with the sword at one point or another in their lives. Regulus always took it more seriously than I did—may he rest in peace, the little traitor—but I know my way around a saber." Sirius shrugged "I'll probably look for a gun as well, but it won't be anything like that honking enormous sniper rifle you were carrying when we met you."

Qrow nodded as he guided Sirius down another street.

"If I remember correctly, there's a real nice Talonian cutlass for sale there. A bit rusty, but it should clean up nice if you do end up buying it. They don't make swords like that anymore."

"Talonian?"

Qrow pursed his lips and responded "Right, right, you're still rusty on local history. Hmph...I'll need to fix that. Consider this the first of many lectures. I suggest you listen well Black, there's a reason history is one of the main subjects taught at Beacon."

Sirius stifled a groan, having flashbacks of a certain ghostly professor. Learning history with Binns had been pure, undiluted boredom, and his aversion for the subject had stemmed from many long hours of sitting in that stifling limbo of a classroom. He, however, did admit to himself that Qrow would likely make learning infinitely more interesting than Binns ever did.

"Talone was once one of the most prosperous kingdoms, second only to the Mantle of that time period. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas may be the most long lived, but other kingdoms have existed in the past, and more will likely exist in the future. Anyways, Talone was a seafaring kingdom, known for being a trade hub, back in the days before airships became viable. Bout...four hundred years ago, if I remember right. It was situated on an island not far off the coast of Mynddragos, and—"

"The...what?"

Qrow sighed, shaking his head.

"Isn't that Faunus buddy of yours reading up on this stuff? You should talk with him when you get back, learns some basic geography. Mynddragos is the continent that looks like a flying dragon, dipshit."

"...ooooh."

"Moving on. Talone was in a prime spot to capitalize on trade between the kingdoms, and the island was small enough that Huntsman and Huntresses of the time were able to wipe out all of the ground bound Grimm. Over a single century, they became masters of the sea, and the city itself grew to be larger than Vale is today. You could buy almost anything there, and they poached master weaponsmith's from all over Remnant. The Talonian cutlass was one of their most famous creations; it was the pioneering Dust-infused weapon, forged using methods that were lost in the Fall of Talone. Not many of them are left."

Sirius frowned and asked "Wait, what do you mean the Fall? You said it was _once_ one of the most prosperous kingdoms? What happened?"

Qrow stopped suddenly, turning to face Sirius; the wizard backed a step away when he saw the unusually grim look on Qrow's face.

"Cirein-cròin happened."

Sirius raised a questioning eyebrow. It sounded like Qrow was talking about a single entity, but what could possibly be capable of wiping out an entire city-state?

In answer, Qrow said "Imagine a Grimm that's long enough to wrap itself around a mountain several times, a gigantic black serpent covered in armour made of bone and barnacles. If the legends tell the story right, it could have swallowed Beacon tower in a single bite."

Sirius froze, horror creeping through his mind as he imagined a monster that size. Ordinary Grimm were hard enough to deal with, but something like that was utterly out of his league; and, he imagined, everyone else's league as well.

"Wha...the fuc...how the...there's a _sea serpent_ Grimm out there that's _that large_?"

Qrow nodded, his eyes distant.

" _Seachd sgadain, sath bradain. Seachd bradain, sath ròin. Seachd ròin, sath mial. Seachd mial, sath Cirein-cròin_. 'At's an old Talonian rhyme that was passed down among the survivors. 'Seven herrings, a salmon's fill. Seven salmon, a seal's fill. Seven seals, a whale's fill. Seven whales, a Cirein-cròin's fill.' Talone...didn't stand a chance. More than three quarters of its population was wiped out within a matter of hours, and Cròin soon disappeared beneath the waves, virtually unharmed. In fact, he's the reason why most travel between Kingdoms is done by airship, nowadays. No one wants to risk that monster showing up again."

Sirius took a shuddering breath, releasing it with a hollow laugh.

"Well...that's good, at least. Any more terrible monsters like that I should know of?"

Sirius' tone was meant to be playful, but the look that Qrow sent him was anything but.

"Wha...seriously?"

"...there have been seven documented SS class Grimm in history. Each one is capable of destroying an entire kingdom by itself. Only three have ever actually been killed, while two of them are sealed away. The remaining two still roam freely, ready to annihilate humanity at a moment's notice. That's what we're up against, Sirius."

Sirius' face turned an ashen gray, his mind struggling to comprehend what he had just heard. It was easy to forget, walking through this thriving city, that most of the world outside of the walls was under the control of monsters more fearsome than any creature of Earth. That those monsters seemed to want nothing more than to rip humans and Faunus into pieces. That every day, the people of Vale lived in the shadow of annihilation, their only hope if a breach happened the military and the Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Sirius felt a new weight settle on his shoulders as he truly understood, for the first time, what being a Huntsman meant. He had taken this job to protect Lily, Remus and Harry, and to have some fun while doing it. He thought that, as a Huntsman, he could fight for a living, just like he'd wanted to do before being sent to Azkaban. But...being a Huntsman wasn't about seeking thrills or even about protecting a handful of important people. It was a duty to humanity as a whole, as well as the Faunus. It was a duty to hold back the darkness that was intent on crushing the small spots of light and life left in this world. And if he wanted to be a true Huntsman, he would need to acknowledge that and dedicate himself fully to becoming one. Sirius mentally slapped himself; how could he have been so selfish, so weak? There were monsters out there, monsters that could destroy millions of lives within a matter of hours. Perhaps he would never come across one of them, perhaps he would have the misfortune to fight one and most likely die doing it. But, Sirius swore to himself, if that day came, he would not back down. If he did, he would condemn another Huntsman or Huntress to take his place, and that was not the kind of man Sirius was.

Whatever happened, Sirius promised himself that he would become a true Huntsman. For Lily, Remus, and Harry...but more importantly, for Remnant as a whole. Even if Lily found a way to go home, he didn't think he'd leave. That would be the coward's way out, and Sirius Black was not a coward.

Qrow gave Sirius an odd grin as he observed the steel that had appeared in Sirius' eyes. Finally, the other man had caught on. This had been the true test of whether or not Sirius could become his apprentice; the others were all important, but Qrow would never train someone who wasn't dedicated to the fight. It was a point that Summer and Tai had often fought about; Tai, good friend though he was, wasn't prepared to give his all in defense of the kingdoms. Oh, he'd fight, and die if he had to. But he thought they'd done enough over the years and had retired, spending his time on Patch. He constantly protested Summer's choice to continue going out on missions. A part of Qrow understood; he loved his small, dysfunctional family to pieces and hated to see any of them get hurt (even his bitch of a sister). But Summer, like Qrow (and Raven), understood that the job was never really over for a Huntsman or Huntress, and that there were risks involved. They didn't have the luxury of retirement.

Qrow waved his hand in front of Sirius' face.

"Look alive Black. Let's go buy you a sword. I have a feeling that Talonian sabre is going to be yours."

Sirius blinked and shook himself.

"Huh? Oh, right. Maybe. Are you paying for it?"

"Tch, cheap bastard. Fine. You'll pay me back for it with a few jobs anyways."

Sirius grinned, his usual mirth and snark back full force.

"So does this mean I'm officially your apprentice, old man?"

"Call me old again and I'll staple your fingers together while you're sleeping."

. . .

Remus Lupin nearly jumped out of his skin when the front door of their shared apartment slammed open. He'd spent the last forty hours reading on his scroll, trawling through centuries of Remnant's history as he familiarized himself with the local knowledge. He had enough experience with all nighters to manage, and he had no doubt that this information would be vital to know.

Peeking out of his room, he saw Sirius standing in the doorway, grinning like a loon and wielding a cutlass that was unlike anything Remus had seen before. The sword blade was at least three quarters of a meter long, and was made out a an onyx metal that seemed to absorb all light that hit it. Golden glyphs crisscrossed the blade, glowing faintly with concealed power. The hilt was wrapped in crimson cloth and protected by a guard that undulated smoothly around the hilt. Remus also noticed that Sirius had a large revolver holstered on his belt, his wand nowhere in sight.

"Remus! Come and meet the Solar Eclipse!"

Remus shook his head in amusement as he left his room. Sirius did seem to be rather excited, didn't he?

"Is that what you're calling it, Padfoot?"

Sirius shook his head and said "No, that's the name the shopkeeper supplied. It has some serious history behind it...and now it is going to have some Sirius history, heh."

Remus rolled his eyes at the joke that had long since fallen over dead and diplomatically responded "It is a beautiful weapon. Did Qrow buy it for you?"

"Mhmm. Said it was my induction present. As of today, I have officially become Qrow Branwen's apprentice. You are looking at a Huntsman-in-training right now!"

Remus laughed and clasped Sirius' shoulder.

"That's great! I'm sure James would be shocked to hear it...and proud." Remus nodded to himself "Not sure what your family would think about it though, were they here."

Sirius laughed, a harsh barking sound.

"Ha! If dear old Walburga ever saw me toting around a revolver and sword like this, she'd probably try and find a way to strike my name a second time. That is if the concept of a 'magical gun' didn't strike her dead upon hearing about it."

Remus raised his eyebrows, looking at the gun.

"...I still have trouble believing that everything is powered by magic here, and yet almost no one knows it. Let me guess...Dust rounds?"

"That, and even the regular rounds have some Dust threaded in their composition to make them stronger. The sword is Dust-infused as well. It's a work of art, though, compared to the revolver. Qrow told me about it before we arrived at Stagmar Knife and Sword, but seeing it in action…" Sirius shook his head. "Talonian weapons are in a league of their own."

Remus' eyebrows scrunched up and he asked "Talonian? As in, from the defunct kingdom of Talone?"

"Mmm. You read about it?"

Remus nodded, examining the cutlass. During his overnight study session, he'd covered as many topics as he could, looking up anything he thought they might need to know.

"I did. It's one of the Six Lost Kingdoms. A very interesting read, even if I wasn't able to find too much on it...I'm still not sure what to think about the...circumstances...of its fall."

Sirius grimaced, his mouth settling into a hard line.

"I know what to think. It's fucking terrifying."

Remus nodded as well, an oppressive silence settling over the two of them, interrupted only by Remus yawning.

Both of them looked up as the door opened again, and Lily stepped through, carrying a sleeping Harry. Behind her was another woman, who stood a full head shorter than her, though the difference wasn't immediately noticeable; the long rabbit ears that extended from the top of her head made her seem taller than she was.

Lily noticed the two men and smiled.

"Sirius, I wasn't expecting to see you here today, I thought you were still training with Qrow? And Remus, I've haven't seen you out of your room for days."

Remus shrugged sheepishly. Old habits died hard, and Remus still wasn't used to living with other people. He worried he'd become something of a hermit since leaving Hogwarts.

"I admit, I didn't expect to be caught up so much with my research. It's amazing what you can look up on a scroll."

While Remus stared off into space and continued talking to himself (likely while thinking about all of the books he had just read), Sirius had taken the opportunity to greet their guest.

"Hello there, Sirius Black at your service. And who might you be, my fine lady?"

The Faunus woman smiled shyly, shaking the hand that Sirius presented.

"Clover Scarlatina. Nice to meet you, Mister Black."

Lily jerked her head towards Clover and said "I was out buying books on Dust when I ran into her. She's a single mother and needs a job, I offered to let her become my assistant. She also...Remus?"

Remus snapped out of his mumbling reverie and asked "What?"

"When was the last time you slept?"

Remus blinked and responded "Uh...I'm...not actually sure. I've been concentrating on reading up on as much information as I can….I kind of...lost track of time."

Lily huffed and rolled her eyes, while Clover giggled.

"Right, that's enough of that. Go to bed. Shoo. You've spaced out twice since I came in. Why don't you take Harry with you, he needs his sleep, and he'll get more of it if his Uncle Moony is there with him."

Remus nodded and accepted the bundled up baby. After the two of them left the room, Sirius turned back to Lily and Clover and asked "Well, now that old wolf face has gone to bed, why don't I tell you about my new apprenticeship?"

Lily gasped and clapped her hands together.

"You got it? Oh, I'm so happy for you, Sirius! What was it like?"

"Hell, at first, but it was worth it. Qrow unlocked my Aura, by the way."

Lily's eyes widened, and Sirius could see her fingers twitching. She clearly wanted to begin poking his newly awakened Aura to learn more about it, but refrained from doing so as they were in the presence of a Muggle (though Sirius wondered if he should still use that word anymore. Qrow had told him to stop using so many wizarding terms.)

Clover remained oblivious to the thoughts of the wizard and witch, simply choosing to look around the room. Lily noted that her eyes focused on the door that led to the rest of the expanded apartment, which should not have been possible due to the Muggle repelling charms she had layered onto the doorframe. Her eyes widened, and she turned to Lily, asking "Hey, where does that door lead? I didn't see a balcony on that side of the building when we came up here."

Lily blinked, blinked again, and then mentally reprimanded herself. She hadn't thought that a normal Muggle would be able to see the door and had been content with an array of fairly low powered charms. She had never even considered that the charms wouldn't work on the rather odd people of Remnant. Indeed, Taking Clover on as an assistant had been a spur of the moment decision, motivated by a pang of empathetic understanding. She had seen the sneers that people were aiming towards the Faunus woman, the whispered comments and leering looks. It reminded her of being a Muggleborn witch back in Britain, and after she found out the woman was a single mother in desperate need of a job to support her daughter…

But now that empathy had led to this, and they were faced with a rather thorny problem; namely, whether or not to tell a woman who was almost a total stranger their greatest secret.

Lily briefly considered wiping Clover's memory but halted that train of thought rather quickly. None of them were even close to being Obliviators, and messing with mind magics could easily backfire if one didn't know what one was doing.

They could lie and brush it off, saying it was a special application of Aura or something, or threaten her into silence, but Lily didn't think the former would work and rejected the latter right away; it wasn't Clover's fault that she had seen the door.

So, that left only one option in Lily's mind.

"Well...I suppose if we're working together you would have found out sooner or later. Come on, I'll show you."

. . .

Clover Scarlatina was a deceptively experienced woman. While her outer appearance projected innocence and naivety, she was a remarkably hard woman to unsettle. Growing up in the bad part of Vale had made her resilient, her innocence becoming a mask to hide behind as she internally seethed as yet another shopkeeper denigned her a job just because of her ears. She wasn't jaded though; some small part of her still shone with the hope that she held as a child. A belief in heroes and heroines, in brave souls that would stop at nothing to bring justice to an unfair world, and magic. She had been a fan of Vacuo Comics and the Dresdner Files when she was a little girl (Jade Butcher knew how to write a good book, in her opinion.) So when Clover saw that unassuming door open and reveal a space that should, by all logic, not exist, she had had a moment of wide eyed wonder.

Several hours later, after she had calmed down and Lily had explained the situation to her, Clover was working alongside Lily as the two of them set up Lily's laboratory to begin her research in earnest.

"Next time, do you think I could bring over Velvet? She's four right now, and she likes playing with babies. She doesn't get out of the house much...I've had to leave her with our neighbor while I went out and looked for work."

Lily smiled and said "I don't see why not. I'd like to meet your daughter, she must be the cutest little thing."

Clover smiled softly.

"She is. She's my life, right now. Ever since my husband was kidnapped..."

Clover sniffed and rubbed at her eyes.

"But, you don't want to hear me talk about that. Sorry."

Lily finished setting up her cauldron and walked over to Clover, surprising her by giving her a hug.

"Don't be. If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. As a mother to a mother. Trust me, I know how you feel...ever since James died..." Lily bit her lip "It hasn't been the same. Honestly, arriving in Remnant is probably the best thing that could have happened for me. It's a fresh start, and I intend to make the most of it. James wouldn't want me to despair...and you seem like a tough woman."

Clover snorted, half-smiling at the redhead.

"Still hard to believe that you're a wizard from another planet."

"Well, you just _had_ to notice the door, didn't you?"

Clover laughed lightly, her ears bouncing up and down. After she stopped, she pinned Lily with an inquiring look.

"Out of curiosity, why _did_ you tell me?"

Shrugging, Lily said "I didn't have many options after you noticed the door, and like I said, you probably would have found out sooner or later anyways. There isn't a Ministry here to care about whether or not I reveal the existence of magic to a Muggle, and as long as I only tell trustworthy people, we should be fine."

"So, you trust me?"

Lily returned Clover's gaze, her face serious.

"You don't have any reason to rat us out, and it would probably benefit you more if you didn't. Pretty sure I'd fire you if you started telling people I was a witch. And you seem like a trustworthy person."

Clover nodded, a small smile on her face.

"I don't have any intention to let you down, Miss Potter. So, why don't you tell me what you're planning to research first, I may not be an expert on Dust but I know enough to get by."

Lily's eyes lit up and she began speaking with Clover, the two of them becoming engrossed in their work within a matter of minutes. Years later, the members of Black Qrow would look on this moment as the one that started the equally infamous partnership of Clover Lily; the duo of mad scientist and faithful assistant that would go on to revolutionize the field of Dust research and usher in an new scientific era.

* * *

 **I need to address a few things here.**

 **Yes, Clover Lily is a thing. No, it is not a romantic thing, much like Black Qrow. Yes, at some point in the future Clover will be shipped with either Sirius or Remus. At this point I'm leaning more towards Remus, but if someone makes a good enough argument, Velvet's adoptive father might end up being Sirius (which will honestly be hilarious if it happens).**

 **I know it might seem like I am a bit hard on Tai-Yang. He looks to be a loving father and a great guy, really. But the world of Remnant is a very dangerous place, and as an experienced Huntsman, he should be doing his part. Being a Huntsman is not meant to be an easy path, a fact that I think a lot of people overlook (I blame the comedic nature of the show for that). They are basically the paladins of Remnant that protect against an all consuming, ever present darkness. And from what we know, Tai seems to not be as dedicated to his job as the other members of Team STRQ. Of course, future Volumes might show us that he really is a true Huntsman, who knows. I'm just calling it like I see it.**

 **Yes, I am aware that according to the World of Remnant videos, Huntsmen and Huntresses did not exist until after the Great War. I have chosen to interpret this as they were not organized or trained by the Academies (instead using the apprentice method) and that they didn't have any official rank. We know that the world of Remnant has a history stretching back thousands of years (according to Glynda), and silver eyed warriors are, by Qrow's account, incredibly rare, but the Academies were all created after the Great War. Thus, humans and Faunus must have been able to defend themselves somehow against the Grimm, which is why I interpreted the WoR video that way.**

 **I am also aware that Cirein-cròin is a monster from Scottish Gaelic folklore. However, for the purpose of this fic, I am trying not drawing attention to the fact that RWBY has many fairly obvious Earth inspirations. No one will be mentioning Red Riding Hood, Beowulf, or the Wizard of Oz. For all intents and purposes, Earth and Remnant have separate histories and mythologies, and I decided to pull Cròin from Earth folklore and stuff him into Remnant history. On a side note, I really want Rooster Teeth to release a Big Book of Remnant, a guidebook detailing thousands of little factoids about the world that probably won't appear in any episode (and would make writing this so much easier). I would buy that book in a heartbeat.**

 **Oh, and if you want my inspiration for Sirius' sabre, look up 'bootstrap cutlass'.**


	7. Chapter 7: Close to Home

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **This fic has quickly grown into the one that is my favorite to write. I enjoy the other ones, but for some reason this just has so much more...potential. I blame gonewind.**

 **Oh, and I've nailed down a rough outline for you guys. This first arc is going to be 9-11 chapters long total (so we have 2 to 4 chapters left) and is, obviously, Lily and co. settling in Remnant, getting their new lives set up, meeting the RWBYverse characters, blah blah blah. Then there will be a timeskip of two years, and another 9-11 chapter arc exploring the relationships that are developing (aka, the shipping arc), and there will also be much toddler fluff and one or two** _ **big important events**_ **. Then there will three more timeskips, each with their own 2-4 chapter mini arcs as we merrily skip our way towards the sequel, which will begin when Harry is eleven or twelve and begins at Signal.**

 **Of course this may be subject to change based on my own feelings and your guys' feedback, so don't quote me on that.**

 **Lastly, forgive me for the small fourth wall moment. I couldn't resist. You'll know it when you see it.**

 **Regardless, it is time to get down to brass tacks. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change ourselves. —Saitama_

. . .

Remus Lupin hummed a tune he had heard on the radio as he wove his way through Vale's commercial district. It had been two weeks since the four of them had appeared in Remnant, and life was slowly beginning to start back up. Sirius was seldom around, spending most of his time training with Qrow, learning all of the ins and outs of being a Huntsman; the last time Remus had seen him, he was excited about leaving for his first official mission with Qrow. Lily, on the other hand, had immersed herself fully in her research, spending every moment she wasn't caring for Harry in the laboratory. Luckily, she wasn't alone in her quest. Remus smiled to himself; Clover had turned out to be a wonderful addition to their little family: a diligent worker, excellent caretaker, and a great conversationalist to boot. She, after being informed of Remus' history and current status, had taken it upon herself to inform Remus of what it meant to be a Faunus in Remnant's current day and age. The two of them had had long discussions on topics ranging from biology to philosophy, even delving into their respective theories about the magical mechanics of Aura (though Clover hadn't been aware of magic until a week and a half ago, Remus knew that anyone who was around Lily for an extended period of time would learn quickly, if only through osmosis). Her daughter Velvet was a delight to be around, and was probably the most well mannered four year old that he had ever met (not that Remus knew many four year olds. Parents typically tried to keep their children away from werewolves, after all). And lastly...Remus admitted it to himself, in a quiet, secluded corner of his mind, that Clover was an extremely beautiful woman. But, what with her husband's disappearance and likely kidnapping within the last year, and his own humble nature, Remus wasn't planning on acting on his desires anytime soon. So, he had decided to ignore the feeling for now and move on with his life.

With his friends busy with their own work, Remus had taken it upon himself to find a job as well. If they were going to be staying in Remnant for any length of time (which was looking more and more likely), he wanted to be able to support himself. There was only one problem with his plan...

Remus sighed as he heard yet another passerby muttering about the 'filthy faunus' who was walking along the street, the casual racism barely phasing him any more. While he was infinitely grateful that he was no longer a werewolf—worrying about hurting others during the full moon had been his greatest fear for years—he had to admit that the Faunus were treated no better than werewolves were back in Britain. Securing work was every bit as difficult here, the two tufted ears atop his head a signal to the populace of Vale that he was 'untrustworthy' and 'probably a criminal'. If he hadn't borne the burden of such a stigma for many years already, Remus knew he would have snapped already.

Still, he had hope for this latest job opening. The ad had clearly stated that 'Faunus were welcome', and Remus was optimistic about his chances; after all, no matter what world he was in, Remus Lupin knew his way around books (a callback to his years spent in the Hogwarts library).

Remus stopped in front of his destination and looked up at the old wooden sign that hung proudly over the doorway. Hiding a small grin, the former werewolf entered into the small, cozy bookshop that he'd seen in the classifieds of the Vale Herald.

"Hello, welcome to Tukson's Booktrade _,_ home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?"  
Remus smiled at the Faunus girl behind the counter, taking note of the small antlers sticking up from her purple hair. He may have been slowly getting used to the diversity of hair and eye colour in Remnant, but it was still strange that such shades were considered ordinary in this world. At the very least, Remus thought, she wore it well. She had a long purple French braid that spiralled down one side of her face, and her sleepy, unfocused eyes were a dull fuchsia.

"Hello there, I'm Remus Lupin...and uh, I was wondering if the position that was advertised was still available?"

The young Faunus woman blinked, her attention sharpening as she came out of her boredom induced stupor. She gave Remus a once over, flicking her eyes over his ears and the collection of scars on his face. The girl then smiled at him and called out "Tukson? There's a guy here about the job, name of Remus Lupin. He's cute too, not that you care about that. Mmm...more's the pity."

Remus laughed nervously as the girl gave him another once over, lingering on his facial scars. For some reason, the attention made him uncomfortable, as if he was faced with a hungry dog (or in her case, deer).

Luckily, he didn't have to suffer her attention for long as another person pushed through the doors at the back of the shop. Remus took the opportunity to examine the man that had to be the owner of the bookshop.

Tukson, Remus thought, was a rather large and intimidating man. He was older than Remus but still youthful, and had a physique that a professional Quidditch player would envy, complete with a barrel chest and arms that rippled with muscle. Golden eyes looked out from a pair of thin, raven brows, his face framed by some very impressive sideburns. When Remus inhaled, he could pick up a subtle undercurrent of fur and ink, and knew that the man was a Faunus despite the lack of any noticeable animal features.

"So, you're here for the job, eh? I've been looking for a replacement for Thistle here for nearly a month. Glad you could stop by. Why don't you come in the back room, we can have a sit down and talk."

Remus nodded, pleased to begin his interview. Tukson opened up the door and ushered him into the hallway behind. The girl, Thistle, didn't stop ogling him until the door closed behind them, and Remus let out a sigh of relief at being away from her.

"Heh. She's a good kid, though she's got a thing for guys with scars. Anyways, you want somethin' to drink?" Tukson said, his golden eyes amused. He gestured for Remus to follow, and the two of them exited the narrow hallway and entered a small but cozy office.

Remus shook his head and responded "No, thank you though. You said she's leaving?"

"Mhmm. Her sister's in Mistral, she wants to go live with her. I convinced her to stay until I secured a replacement. So if I end up hiring you, don't worry, Thistle won't be around to undress you with her eyes all day."

Remus chuckled and slid into the seat that Tukson had offered him. He took a moment to examine the office, taking in the old wooden panelling and the stacks of books haphazardly lying around. Tukson, large though he was, seemed to gel perfectly with the small space as he sunk into an overstuffed armchair behind his desk.

"Well, I suppose we should start out with the basics. Why don't you introduce yourself properly, give me a little backstory? I enjoy a good story."

Remus jerked his head minutely and cleared his throat, saying "Right. Well, I'm Remus Lupin. I'm a wolf Faunus as you might be able to tell, and up until quite recently, I lived in an isolated village outside of the Kingdoms. It was called Hogsmeade," Remus chuckled to himself "And don't ask me who came up with the name, I don't know why it stuck. But...I was born there, grew up there, went to school there. It was my home. It...wasn't the most Faunus friendly place, but I'd never been more than a few kilometers outside of the village and was...content to stay. I suppose you could say that ignorance was bliss."

Tukson steepled his fingers, his eyes silently encouraging Remus to continue.

"Not even a month ago, there was a Grimm attack. A bad one. We were overrun, forced to flee. James, one of my closest friends, died." Remus paused as he felt the usual pang of phantom pain when mentioning James' death. After a moment he started again "I left with two other mates of mine, Lily and Sirius, and we set out towards Vale. All three of us know enough to hold our own against Grimm, though Sirius is the only one that is formally trained. We spent days heading towards Vale." Remus grimaced. "It...it was unpleasant...we almost died more times than I can count. But we endured, and once we got to the city we started setting up new lives...which is why I'm here."

Tukson raised a single eyebrow and said "Quite a story. You've got your resume on you?"

Remus nodded and withdrew a few slips of paper from his pocket. He hadn't known how to write a resume before coming to Vale, but it turned out to be rather easy, once he looked up the process; Scrollnet was, in Remus' opinion, one of the greatest creations of all time. Nothing wizards had made could even come close to such a wealth of information.

Tukson unfolded the paper and gave the sheets a cursory glance before setting them down.

"You know your way around a bookshop?"

"Yes sir. I've been around books my entire life. I might need some help learning how to operate some of the technology...we didn't have much tech in Hogsmeade. But I promise I'll learn fast."

Tukson shrugged and said "Eh, it's easy enough, you'll pick it up in a day or two. Do you have any previous engagements that might interfere with your work hours?"

Remus paused, then shrugged.

"Not that I can think of, beyond perhaps occasionally looking after Lily's son."

Tukson nodded, his eyes perusing the scars on Remus' face. He frowned slightly.

"I'm not going to have to worry about any funny business in my shop, am I? I run a clean business, no drugs, no crime. Can you handle that?"

Remus nodded, wondering if crime was a serious problem in this section of Vale. He'd do some research on it when he got back to the apartment.

"I can."

"Hmph. Good. You're hired."

Remus blinked in surprise, his excitement mounting. He had honestly expected more of an interview (not that that was a bad thing).

"I am? T-thank you! Already?"

Tukson shrugged, a small grin nestled on his lips.

"Your info checks out, at least as much as it can for someone who arrived in Vale such a short time ago. And I'm loath to turn you away after hearing that story. I know how tough it can be for people who live outside the Kingdoms when they come into Vale; consider it my way of supporting a fellow Faunus who's fallen on hard times. You seem reliable, you know books, and...well, so far I've only interviewed some young punks and an unrepentant racist." Tukson rolled his eyes "Damn chick couldn't get out of my office fast enough after she found out about me. You'd a thought she woulda left after seeing Thistle. But anyways...I don't see any reason not to hire you. Your shift starts the day after tomorrow, eight o'clock in the morning. Don't be late."

Remus felt a wide grin break out onto his face, and he shook the man's hand enthusiastically.

"Thank you very much, I'll be there!"

A few minutes afterwards, Remus exited the shop, humming under his breath again. Today was turning into a very good day.

. . .

"And how are you doing today, Velvet?"

The small rabbit-eared girl in Lily's arms giggled and answered "I'm good. How about you, Miss Lily?"

Lily smiled, glancing over at Clover who was playing with a gurgling Harry.

"I'm good too. Are you excited about starting preschool soon?"

"Yes!"

"That's good. You're lucky, I never went to preschool. We didn't have one where I lived. Tunie and I didn't go to school until Kindergarten."

Velvet scrunched her nose up and asked "What's Kindergarten?"

"Oh, do you not have that here?" asked Lily. "It's...well, it's in between preschool and primary school. She should have known, the 'garden for children' wasn't a universal concept, and the culture of Remnant, while having bits and pieces of familiarity to it, was still quite different to what she was used to.

Velvet shook her head, though she seemed to have lost interest in the conversation. She began squiggling and Lily set her down, after which the Faunus dashed over to Harry's side.

Lily looked fondly on the two children as they began playing together. After a few moments of watching them, she heard a ping, and sighed.

"Clover, I need to get that. Can you keep an eye on them?"

Clover nodded, cracking her back.

"Go right ahead, I don't mind."

Lily left the room, heading to the laboratory. She hooked her new Scroll (Remus and Clover had been kind enough to teach her how to use it) off of a stack of tomes and opened it. The caller ID stated that a 'Taiyang Xiao Long' was calling her. Odd; Lily knew that she'd heard that name before, but couldn't quite pin down where. Shrugging to herself, she pressed the accept button and said "Hello?"

"Oh, hello there. Is this Lily Potter?"

"It is." Lily responded.

"Oh, good. I'm Taiyang, you can call me Tai. I'm one of Qrow's old teammates."

Lily's mouth formed an 'O'. So that's where she had heard the name before. Qrow, though he and Sirius were often absent, had spoken with Lily on a number of occasions over the last two weeks, and the names of his old team had slipped past his lips more than a few times.

"Oh, right, he's mentioned you and Summer quite a bit. It's nice to speak with you, finally."

A distorted chuckle drifted through the Scroll's speakers.

"Right back atcha; we've been curious about the three refugees Qrow rescued since he told us that he'd taken on one of them as his apprentice. That was a surprise, heh. Actually, Summer and I were wondering if you'd like to meet up somewhere in Vale, get to know each other? We were in the city anyways on a day trip from Patch."

Lily hummed, thinking. She had been planning to do more research today, but it wasn't exactly pressing, and she was curious about the sort of people Qro had trained with. She also felt a stir of excitement at meeting two more of Remnant's protectors; Huntsmen and Huntresses were a fascinating bunch of individuals. Clover probably wouldn't mind going home a little early either, she'd been lamenting Velvet's tendency to stay up far too late.

"Is it alright if I bring along my son? He's a year old, and I'd rather not leave him with my assistant while I'm out, she works plenty hard as it is."

"Eh, sure, why not, we can introduce him to Ruby and Yang. Yang's three and Ruby's one as well, it should be a party. I'll send you the location on your Scroll. See you soon, goodbye!"

Lily clicked her Scroll shut, staring down at it. A smile slowly began to spread across her face; she wondered whether or not Taiyang would object to some light experimentation. Lily coughed and shook her head; no, no magic in front of Mugg-non magicals. Qrow and Ozpin had both insisted that they stop using British Wizarding terms that were likely to get them noticed. Though why it mattered when she hardly went outside was beyond her.

Lily shrugged and stuffed the Scroll in her pocket before walking out of the laboratory.

"Clover, I'm heading out with Harry for a meeting. You want to take the rest of the day off?"

The Faunus looked up from the Doctor Geisel book she had been reading to Velvet and Harry, saying "Oh, ok. No, that sounds good...where you heading to?"

"I'm meeting up with some of Qrow's friends. Old teammates from Team STRQ, apparently."

Clover smiled and nudged Velvet off of her lap before lifting Harry into Lily's arms.

"That sounds like fun. Go, shoo, go meet with some Huntsmen. Oum knows you don't get out of the lab enough as it is. Here I was thinking Remus was the hermit of your little group."

Lily rolled her eyes as she accepted her son, the little rolly-polly latching onto her instantly.

"Laugh it up, fuzzball. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for bringing Velvet, by the way, she's such an angel."

Clover shrugged and said "My pleasure, Harry is every bit as cute. See you tomorrow."

. . .

The location on Lily's Scroll led her to a quaint little park near Beacon. There was a small playground in the center of the area, a young girl with blonde hair the only one playing on it. Lily's gaze soon found a couple sitting on one of the park benches,a baby on the woman's lap; they waved at her, inviting her over.

As she drew closer, Lily sized up the two. The man on the left wore casual clothes, though he had a pauldron fastened on his shoulder. He had messy, short blonde hair with two cowlicks standing up, and was clean shaven aside from a small soul patch on his lower lip. His blue eyes were a deep cobalt blue, and his skin was sun kissed. The woman to his right wore a flowing ivory cloak, pinned in place by a silver rose emblem. She had medium length black hair that faded to red at the ends, and her eyes were a piercing, molten silver. Lily shivered involuntarily; for a moment, she felt something flash behind those eyes. Something dangerous, almost predatory, unlike anything she had ever felt before. The moment passed in an instant, though, vanishing when she blinked.

Lily shook herself, and put the feeling down to her imagination.

The blonde man, Taiyang, raised a hand in greeting and said "Hello there. I'm Tai. This is Summer. That little troublemaker over there on the slide is Yang, and Ruby is the little cutie sitting with Summer. Say hi, sweetie."

The one year old, upon seeing Lily, turned away and burrowed into her mother's shoulder. Tai chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

"Never mind. She's a shy one around strangers."

Lily smiled as well, taking a seat on a different bench.

"Trust me, I know. Harry can be shy as well."

Lily looked down at her son, who was staring at her with all the indignation his baby mind could muster. Looking back at Summer and Taiyang, she caught a hint of innocent silver eyes peeking out from around Summer's cloak. The eyes locked onto Harry, and soon enough, Ruby's entire face emerged, framed by wispy locks of raven hair. Harry, seemingly sensing the attention, turned around; emerald orbs met silver as the two babies stared at each other silently. After a moment, Ruby smiled, revealing a mouth full of seven mismatched teeth; Harry, seeing the smile, returned it fully, as babies are wont to do. A ripple of potentiality slammed across dimensions, and worlds away, the shade of Voldemort felt a shiver crawl up his non-existent spine. What in Merlin's name could have caused that? It almost felt like somewhere, somehow, thousands of people were simultaneously wincing as they imagined how utterly outmatched he was one day going to be.

The foursome on the benches, however, remained ignorant of the extra-dimensional occurrence. A whoop of enjoyment drew the parent's attention away from their respective babies. The small blonde girl, Yang, was climbing her way up a slide, her face set with childish determination while her stubby toddler legs were firmly planted to avoid falling down.

Taiyang grinned and said "Ah, kids. Ya gotta love em. Even if you're like Qrow and insist that you don't."

Lily rolled her eyes, remembering the one time Qrow and Harry had been in the same room together. The man had hit it off splendidly with the one year old despite his constant protestations. They had ended up on the couch, Qrow trying to teach Harry how to say his name (Harry had managed a 'cwow' which Qrow had deemed close enough.)

"Yes, I know what you mean. Speaking of Qrow, how much has he told you about us?"

Summer, who had been silent thus far, entered the conversation as she said "Not too much. We know you used to live in a village a few days travel from Vale that was called Hogsmeade. After it was overrun by the Grimm, you made your way to the city to be safe, and that Sirius was skilled enough to have Qrow take him on. Aside from that...well, Qrow hasn't even introduced us to Sirius yet, so we thought we'd take this time to learn more about you."

Taiyang stretched his arms back and placed on his head, saying "Yeah, I've been asking him to bring his new apprentice by for days, but he keeps evading for some reason. Should I be worried that they're spending so much time together?"

Lily snorted.

"The only thing you'll have to worry about is whether or not there will still be alcohol left in the city after they're done with it. Honestly, the two of them are like peas in a pod. I heard they're starting to call their partnership 'Black Qrow', apparently they think it sounds cool or something."

An expression of exaggerated horror passed onto Tai's face.

"By Oum, there are two of them. Repent! Repent!"

Summer smacked her husband's arm.

"He can't be that bad...right?"

Lily pretended to think for a moment, smiling. She eventually said "No, he's really not that bad. A bit rough around the edges, perhaps, but he's one of my best friends. He's loyal, funny, and more stubborn than anyone I know. I'll admit, Sirius has his flaws, but eh, who doesn't?"

Both Tai and Summer nodded, the latter glancing speculatively at Lily.

"Why don't you tell us more about yourself, Miss Potter? Or would you rather I call you Lily?"

"Lily is fine."

The redhead thought for a moment, carefully thinking over the story she had concocted with Remus and Sirius. They had been careful to include as much of the truth as possible, to avoid stumbling over information and revealing their secret. Lily began "Well, I grew up in Hogsmeade along with Remus and Sirius. The area I was born in was known as Little Whinging, and every house looked the same...don't know why that was so important, but that little tidbit has stuck with me for years. Anyways, when I turned eleven, I began at the local school known as Hogwarts—"

Lily was interrupted by a burst of laughter from Taiyang. Looking over at the two, she saw Summer sniggering as well.

"Alright, so it is a bit of a silly name." Lily said, grinning.

After the two calmed down, Lily continued.

"I attended with one of my childhood friends, Severus. We...mostly stuck around each other during our time there, at least at first. It was during my second year that I had the misfortune to become acquainted with James Potter." Lily scowled, remembered her husband's twelve year old self. "To put it lightly, he was a bratty asshole who thought I was cute and instantly disliked Severus, if only for the fact that Severus was my friend and he wasn't. Sirius and Remus were...well, maybe minions is too strong of a word, maybe cohorts will do. The three of them were known as the Marauders, and were the school's resident pranksters."

Lily paused to take a breath; Remus had cautioned that they shouldn't reveal anything about the four houses or too much about Hogwarts, it would just confuse people, so they had modified their stories accordingly.

"He pursued me for years...but I wouldn't give him the time of day. I wasn't interested in boys back then, and even if I was, I wouldn't have picked him." Lily shook her head, grinning. "Imagine my surprise when he changed completely during our later years; he even started being cordial with Severus, hard as it is to believe. Sirius and Remus followed his example, though Sirius did so grudgingly. At first, I thought it was a ploy to trick me into falling for him, but I eventually came to see that he was actually trying to better understand where I was coming from and prove himself worthy of being with me. It was...actually really sweet. And it ended up, somehow, that we fell in love." Lily's smile changed into a frown. "Unfortunately, it drove Severus away from me. I...still regret that. He...didn't even come to our wedding."

Summer hummed, her hands idly playing with Ruby's hair.

"An interesting love story. It's almost like how we got together, isn't it, Tai?"

Taiyang shrugged, a sheepish look on his face.

"I was an asshole when we first met?"

"Yes dear, you were. But you're a sweetheart now." Summer kissed her husband on the cheek and turned her attention back to Lily expectantly.

Lily giggled at their interaction and continued, saying "After that...there's not terribly much to tell. We had Harry, and we were all set up to raise him in the village like we had been. But...it wasn't to be." Lily sighed, channeling her grief over the war into her storytelling to make it more believable. "The Grimm attacked during the night, breaking through the walls. They were mostly Ursai and Beowolves, though I did see a trio of King Taijitu while we were leaving. I still don't know what caused them to rush the village, and I'll probably never find out. James was...killed. He died protecting Harry." Lily sniffed. "And well...I suppose that's it, for the most part."

Taiyang had a faraway look in his eyes, while Summer hugged Ruby to her chest.

"Thank you...for telling us, Lily. It sounds like you've been through a hard time."

Lily nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Well, you know what they say. Never stop moving forwards."

Taiyang nodded, cobalt eyes studying Lily.

"Mmm. I heard you're a Dust researcher now. How are you finding that to be?"

Lily's eyes brightened, a small spark of contained madness appearing in them. She was careful not to become too excited though; if she went into her normal impassioned diatribe, she might let slip the 'M word', which would not go over well.

"It's amazing! I've always wanted to work with Dust, but there wasn't a market for it back in Hogsmeade. Ozpin has been kind enough to give me the position and I've already made some exciting discoveries. You see, I think most of the researchers out there are looking at Dust all wrong, trying to tease out its chemical composition, looking to change it or find out how it is formed. I, on the other hand, have concentrated on studying the waveforms of activated, base elemental Dust, looking at the rates of energy dispersion on an atomic level. According to the books Ozpin lent me, no one actually knows exactly _how_ Dust interacts with elemental sources. I've spent a few days recording data with the help of my assistant and I think I'm pretty close to a breakthrough—"

Tai's eyes glazed over at the overload of information; he was rather strongly reminded of Bartholomew Oobleck, the History Professor who had started at Beacon this year. Actually, Lily Potter seemed to be speaking even _faster_ than Oobleck usually did, if such a thing was even possible.

. . .

Millions of light years away, on the world known as Earth, in the country of Britain, Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, looking through the stack of parchment sheets on his desk. The last month and a half had not been kind to him. First, Lily Potter had gone missing with Harry in tow, and none of the tracking charms Dumbledore had used could find her (she really was the brightest witch of her age to evade him so). He had briefly considered using Fawkes to teleport to her, but had discarded that idea out of hand; Lily had still been in volatile state of mind, and he had imagined that she would need space to see the rightness of his path. Unfortunately, that decision came back to bite him when Lily Potter—a kind, somewhat shy Gryffindor—broke into Azkaban prison to rescue Sirius Black, a man who, by all accounts, she should hate for betraying her family!

It still utterly confused him. Why had Lily done such a thing? Dumbledore worried that perhaps she had been influenced. Perhaps the dark force that he had sensed within Harry Potter had already begun to affect the mother, twisting her mind until she sought out the very man who had betrayed her family. He wouldn't put it past Tom to do such a thing.

Dumbledore shook his head as he parsed through the pile. And to top everything off, Lily, Remus, Sirius, and young Harry had managed to escape from Azkaban and had managed to hide somewhere even _Fawkes_ couldn't go. He shuddered to think of what eldritch protections Lily had erected in her fragile state of mind, what dark power she had contracted with to keep herself and her son out of his reach. Dumbledore grimaced; he should have known better than to give her her freedom. He should have dealt with her more firmly. And now, because he hadn't, the Boy-Who-Lived, the one who was destined to defeat Voldemort was gone. It was truly a blow for the Greater Good.

The Daily Prophet had ripped the Supreme Mugwump apart in a visceral manner, decrying his hand in the matter. Dumbledore had had to go before the editors for an interview, stating, unequivocally, that he had no idea where Lily was and that he had had no part in the escape attempt. The media storm still hadn't calmed down though, and Dumbledore knew it would take a long time for his reputation to recover.

Still, there were some small lights of hope. He had managed, through careful maneuvering, to acquire all of Lily's notes and research that had remained in Godric's Hollow. Hopefully they would give him some idea as to where Lily had gone.

Scanning a sheet of parchment, Dumbledore's craggy eyebrows raised. This...this was exactly what he was looking for.

" _Lily Potter, October 5th. High Powered Portkey Version No. 4, Test 11._ "

A high powered protkey. So that was how she had done it. Dumbledore stroked his beard, a small smile appearing on his old face. Even unregistered Portkeys could be tracked, unlike Apparition. They had to be bound to a specific point in space, and with the right spells...well, suffice to say that Dumbledore found that his day was suddenly looking much better.

* * *

 **Ah, good old 'Greater Good' Dumbledore. The second most hated person in all of HP fanfiction, second only to the Queen Umbitch. Don't worry, Dumbledore isn't going to appear anytime soon to fuck shit up. This was just a little blurb to let you know that he is still alive and scheming, and will be making an appearance in Remnant in the future.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this. I'm looking forwards to writing more about Tukson, he had such a small role but he seemed like a really interesting character.**

 **Until next time, I've been Z.R. Stein, and you are awesome.**


	8. Chapter 8: Discoveries and Questions

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **I have decided to publish a little side fic to this, which will be called** _ **The Wizarding World Of Remnant**_ **, and it will contain a fuckton of pure worldbuilding. It will have a bestiary, a guide to the continents, little blurbs on the histories of the Lost Kingdoms, a spellbook entry on Semblances, yadda yadda yadda; all the background that I want to create to flesh out the world more but that I won't be able to work into the story if I want to keep it enjoyable. Think of it like this fic's version of the World of Remnant videos. And all of it is meant to be read in Ozpin's/Salem's voice. Obviously.**

 **That's not to say that I won't be worldbuilding within the fic anymore, I'll still do that, but now that I've laid most of the basic groundwork for the world, I want to concentrate more on the characters now. Expect the Wizarding World of Remnant to be posted in a few days.**

 **Anyways, enjoy the story.**

* * *

 _Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb! —Kamina_

. . .

Sirius Black snorted, trying to clear away a small spider that was clinging to his nose. He dared not swipe it away with his hand, as Qrow had given him explicit instructions to stay as still as possible, to avoid detection by any Grimm that were around.

The two of them were in the midst of their first joint mission together, and Sirius was determined to give his best effort. They had accepted a job notice that had been posted by a medium sized, walled village that was a day's travel by Bullhead from Vale. The village had been suffering sporadic Grimm attacks for days from some unusually aggressive Beowolves, and professional help was needed if the settlement was going to continue existing.

Luckily, Sirius and Qrow had accepted the job, and Qrow was currently patrolling the woods around the perimeter of the village, watching for any approaching Grimm. Sirius, still quite inexperienced, had been assigned guard duty; Qrow had ordered him to sit in a tree near the town's gate, keep his eyes open, and move as little as possible. Qrow wanted to know why the Grimm were attacking the town, as the behavior of the Beowolves that the townspeople described was rather disturbing; instead of their usual pack mentality, the Beowolves that had attacked the village had seemed rabid, according to the witnesses. They had fought each other as much as they attacked the townspeople, which was one of the reasons the town had survived for so long.

"See anything?"

Sirius, to his credit, barely reacted to Qrow settling onto a branch beside him. The past weeks had involved some rather...unique training at Qrow's hands, and his spatial awareness and reaction time had heightened dramatically as a result.

"Nothing yet. You?"

"Nope. Not a peep. But if what the old man in the village said is true, they'll be here anytime. Keep your guard up, your wand ready, and your eyes peeled. I'd hate to have to send you home in a bag."

And with that, Qrow was gone, the rustling of leaves the only sign of his departure. Sirius rolled his eyes and continued his lonely stakeout.

. . .

"Is this a common occurrence in a wizarding laboratory, Lily?"

Lily Potter glared at her rabbit eared assistant before sighing, her hand reaching up to wipe a layer of soot off of her face.

"Don't get snarky with me...and no, it isn't. I must have overestimated the boiling point of the Fire Dust fragments..."

Clover smirked as she looked around the room. The cauldron that Lily was glaring at was little more than a pile of cooling slag, steam and smoke still rising from the remains, evidence of the fire extinguisher Clover had just used on the Dust fire.

"I'm not a magical expert or anything, but what were you trying to do anyways?"

Lily shrugged as she began picking papers and bottles up off the floor.

"Well, I think I have the base wavelength of Fire Dust nailed down pretty well. Now that I know how it's composed, I was hoping that I could start attempting to alter it."

"You mean like creating Steam Dust?"

Lily shook her head.

"No, that's a simple combination. Steam Dust, Lava Dust, Glass Dust, all of those are simply combinations of one or more forms of other, simpler Dust. _I_ want to alter Dust on a basic level. Think of it like an atomic reaction versus and chemical reaction."

Clover nodded slowly.

"Ok, fair enough, but how exactly is this...applicable. You have to present something to Ozpin, right? What is this going to be used for?"

Lily grinned.

"What _can't_ it be used for? By altering Dust, I am essentially altering magic itself. Right now, Dust is almost purely elemental in nature. Air, Fire, Earth, that sort of thing. But if I change its nature on a fundamental level, I could make Dust that can actually mimic the spells that I normally use. Imagine being able to utilize Dust that exclusively affects Grimm."

Clover's eyes widened comically.

"You could _do_ that!"

Lily smiled at her assistant, a wicked glint in her eye.

"I don't see why not. There _are_ indeed spells that are coded to specific species; _Arania Exumai_ , for example, is a charm that only affects spiders. Of course, there isn't a spell that repels or damages Grimm exclusively, at least that I am aware of, but that isn't much of an issue either; I do have a mastery in Arithmancy, so devising the spell itself shouldn't be too difficult. If I can study a live Grimm specimen, I should be able to create a charm to counter Grimm, then I can alter Dust to perform that charm, and then, well, Bob's your Uncle." Lily clapped her hands together "Grimm repellant."

Clover nodded mechanically and said "If that works, you'd probably be hailed as the greatest scientist Remnant has ever seen."

Lily cackled and responded "Welp. We're not going to get to that point by standing around flapping our lips. Come, my adorable assistant. Let's get cracking."

. . .

A howl pierced the night, and Sirius bolted upright. His back creaked in protest, signalling its displeasure at being moved after hours of sitting perfectly still, but Sirius ignored it. The pack was here.

Sirius swung down from the tree and drew his sword, his wand slipping out of his wrist holster into his palm. He saw a shadow flit overhead, then Qrow landed beside him, his gunblade resting across his shoulders.

"They're coming in from the east. The village is the priority here, so don't let any of them get past you. Try to take notes on their behavior while we fight them, though, rabid Grimm are something I've never heard of."

Sirius grunted his assent, the two men tense as they waited, looking out on the dark forest. The trees were silent, watching waiting. Sirius strained his ears, trying to pick up any sound beside his beating heart and calm breath. After a moment, he heard a faint pounding noise, along with a guttural chuff.

A Beowolf burst through the leaves in a flurry of motion, and Qrow pirouetted, his blade arcing up to decapitate the Grimm before it could reach them; the head of the Grimm sailed by, already decomposing. Another rustle came to their right, and Sirius cast a hasty Protego to block the attack before retaliating.

" _Bombarda_!"

The blast ripped the offending Beowolf apart, but Sirius had no time to rest; another Beowolf leaped over his shield entirely and was heading towards him. With no time to cast, Sirius rolled to the side, Solar Eclipse shearing off one of the Beowolf's arms while it passed. The wounded Beowolf landed with a huff and began snarling, ramming its head into the trees before it turned towards Sirius. Idly, the wizard noted that the Grimm's eyes were a much darker red than normal, and froth was present around its mouth.

"Come on, you rabid mutt!"

The wolf charged, and Sirius thrust out with his wand; fire burst from the tip, consuming the Grimm before it could utter another sound. When the flames ceased, the only evidence of the Grimm ever existing was a pile of ash.

With that Grimm dealt with, Sirius momentarily turned his attention to his teacher. Qrow was deadly in action, a spiralling tornado of destruction. To an ordinary person, his style would look sloppy and wild, but Sirius knew a thing or two about swordfighting. There was an iron discipline at work in Qrow's style, paired with an unconventional attack pattern that integrated both the mecha shifting forms of the weapon and a plethora of kicks and even headbutts. It was beautiful to watch.

A snarl behind Sirius caught his undivided attention, and Sirius coughed as a massive paw slammed him into a tree. Sirius mentally berated himself for being distracted. His Aura may have protected him from harm, but being smacked by a Grimm had still hurt like a bitch, and Sirius groaned as he heaved himself up off the ground.

The monster that had attacked him had seemingly lost interest, though, and was currently gnawing on the shoulder of a fellow Beowolf. Sirius took time to observe the creatures, eyes narrowed. He shouted out to his partner "Hey Branwen, you still alive?"

"Hoping to get rid of me, Black? It'd take a lot more than this to kill me."

"Whatever, jackass. You see this?"

Qrow pulled his blade out of the skull of a fallen Beowolf with a wet _schloop_ and glanced over.

"Yeah. Never seem sumthin' like that before. Weird."

A low roar warned Sirius of a new threat. He Apparated away from the Beowolf that was attacking him, reappearing in the branches above it with a sharp crack. Bending his legs, Sirius dropped down, landing on its neck while his saber slipped into the beast's back, the Dust-infused metal sliding through vertebrae like a knife through hot butter.

The Beowolf slumped over and began disintegrating, and Sirius took the time to examine his surroundings with all of his senses. There weren't any other Beowolves in sight apart from the two that were currently fighting. After several seconds of scrabbling with each other, one of the Beowolves succeeded in gaining traction, and it smashed the other Beowolf into the ground before breaking its skull open. The Beowolf then turned towards the humans, growling, before a shot from Qrow shut it up for good.

The monster collapsed, its body flaking away in death, and the forest was once again silent. Qrow walked up beside him, grinning. A spray of black ichor stained his collar and face, but the elder Huntsman didn't seem to care.

"Well, that was fun."

"Psychopath."

"Che. Hunting Grimm is what I do best, Black. But enough about me. Come on. This pack was probably just the first. From what the village people said, there's at least two more out there."

Sirius sighed, shaking his head as Qrow leaped away, his ridiculously large gunblade trailing behind him in scythe mode. The wizard tilted his head back and looked up at the shattered moon.

"Damn it all. This is going to be a long night."

. . .

Harry glared down at the offending block in his hand, as if trying to cause it to spontaneously combust into flame. He and Velvet were building a castle, though the one year old had mostly been relegated to handing the older Faunus blocks, as Velvet—being four—was much better able to place the pieces. The castle had unfortunately gotten too tall for even Velvet's relatively tall frame to reach to, and both of them were stumped.

"Maybe we could get a chair?" Velvet asked, small brown eyes glancing around the room.

"Cha?"

"Yeah, a chair."

Velvet hopped away and began pulling at one of the chairs in the kitchen, rabbit ears atop her head flopping around.

"Oh, it's heavy! I don't think I can move it!"

"Cha!"

Velvet let out a gasp of surprise as the chair suddenly became much easier to move. She let go, yet the chair continued to float. Velvet stared at it with wide eyes, before turning to Harry.

"You're doing this?"

"Dis?"

"Yeah, with the chair?"

"Cha!"

The chair began to float over to where the two children had been building the castle. Velvet walked beside it, a smile beginning to grow on her face as the chair touched down on the ground.

"Oh right...Mommy told me you're a wizard."

"Wiza? Harry wiza?"

"That's right Harry. You're a wizard."

Harry scrunched up his eyebrows in babyish confusion.

"A wiza?"

"Yes Harry. You, are a wizard."

Harry nodded, smiling a smile that was mostly gums.

'Wiza. Harry wiza."

Velvet nodded in agreement, before she picked up the block that Harry had dropped.

"Come on, let's build it to the moon!"

"Yaaa!"

. . .

Sirius groaned as he wiped the blade of Solar Eclipse clean on the grass, the rays of the morning sun glinting off of the Talonian metal. While Grimm disintegrated upon death, they always left behind some remnant of their existence, mostly black blood or bone fragments. The ichor was the worst smelling thing Sirius had ever encountered, and that was saying something; he thought he'd grown used to such scents after years of hanging around potions labs.

The mental effect of fighting Grimm was wearing down on him as well. Though their negative pressure was tamer than that of a Dementor, it did accumulate over time. The sheer, raw _hate_ that Grimm exuded was like a mild toxin, seeping into his veins the longer he was around them. Sirius had asked Qrow why the effect was worse than he had remembered before, when the three wizards had been fleeing from Mountain Glenn, and Qrow had responded:

" _Well, that'd be because of your Aura. See, most normal people don't feel anything when a Grimm's around, other than, y'know, natural terror. But when you've got your Aura unlocked, you can really feel em, like you are now. Your soul is your shield, yeah, but using it as a shield brings it closer to the surface. It allows you to see things no one else can see, do things no one else can do. You can feel the Grimm around you, all that anger, all that killing intent. It's one of the reasons why Huntsmen are so good at fighting Grimm; we know where they are at all times. But feeling that can really wear down on a man. It's why more people don't get their Aura unlocked."_

Sirius shook his head to clear his thoughts and vaulted away. After several minutes of leaping through tree branches, his feet scrambled on the slick surface of the town wall. He flipped up over and landed on his ass, his arrival rougher than he would have liked.

"You look like shit."

Sirius, tired as he was, graced Qrow with a one finger salute while he took a moment to catch his breath. After a moment, he stood up, feeling well enough to make a comeback.

"That's funny, Branwen, cuz you look worse than I do."

Qrow chuckled at his partner and slapped him on the back.

"Heh. Anyways...job well done. Those packs we took out should help the village stay safe, for awhile, at least. And we have enough data on the rabid Beowolves to give to Ozpin. He should be able to make something out of it, cuz as it is, I have no idea what the hell was going on with them."

"Ugh. I suppose that's good, but my body is killing me. It hurts...all over."

Qrow nodded, understanding where the Huntsman in training was coming from.

"You did good out there, y'know? Ya had to have killed at least fifty of em...they were just Beowolves, but still. It takes a Huntsman with steel in 'im to take on that many Grimm and live."

Sirius raised a tired eyebrow at the older man.

"Huh."

"What?"

"I think that's the first time you've given me a compliment that was _that_ sincere."

Qrow snorted and turned away, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Eh, you're still sloppy as all hell. I'm gonna put you through hell when we get back to Vale. We're done with the warm up, it's time for the real training to begin."

"Oh, you absolute bloody _bastard_. That's it, no firewhiskey for you! Ever!"

"...firewhiskey?"

. . .

"Hello, welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?"

Remus Lupin smiled at the pair of teenage Faunus that had entered the shop, his posture straight as he stood by the register. His first day working at Tukson's shop was going splendidly so far. Tukson had tutored him on using the register and scanner already, and Remus was confident that he would be completely proficient with all of the technology used in the shop by the end of the week. It was actually quite easy, though Remus' previous knowledge of Scrolls may have helped him somewhat. He had already served over a dozen customers as well. Tukson's shop was unexpectedly popular. It seemed that the Book Trade was one of the few Faunus owned businesses in the city, and thus, other Faunus made sure to support its existence with patronage. That's not to say there weren't human customers as well; in fact, fully half of all of the customers lacked any animal characteristics. But a plethora of Faunus visited the shop over the course of the day.

So, Remus was enjoying his new job. Truly, working with books was a dream come true for the former werewolf. There was only one downside to the current state of his occupation...

"Oh, look at you, all cute in that uniform. Mmm...crying shame. Really is. I would rock your world so hard if I could stay."

Remus suppressed a sigh. Thistle, the deer Faunus that has been his predecessor, had opted to stick around on his first day to 'help train the newbie'. Unfortunately for Remus, while she _had_ given him some useful pointers, the girl had mostly used her remaining time at the shop to shamelessly flirt with the wolf Faunus, making increasingly bold passes at him, as well as occasionally, 'accidentally' brushing up against him.

The first few times that had happened had been fine, but the latest incident had involved a wandering hand that had 'accidentally' ended up clamped firmly onto one of his ass cheeks. Remus had let out a rather unmanly squeak when that had happened, and had glared at the grinning Faunus, but had ultimately chosen to ignore it; he only had to put up with her for one day, after all, and he wasn't the type to make a fuss of things. And if the hand had lingered for a few seconds...well, he was going to ignore that too.

Not that a part of him didn't appreciate the attention. While Remus' ego had never been anywhere near as large as Sirius, it was always nice to feel attractive in the eyes of the opposite sex (or same sex, if one was into that sort of thing). He just wished that Thistle would be a little more...subtle about it.

"Thistle, keep your hands off of Remus."

Thistle pouted at Tukson, who had just pushed through the back doors.

"Awww...why can't I just tease him a little?"

Tukson chuckled as he gently whacked his soon to be former employee in the back of the head.

"One, because I said so. Two, because there's no sexual harassment in my shop, Three, I think you're starting to freak Remus out."

Thistle, fuchsia eyes sparkling, turned to Remus, who had a nervous smile on his face.

"But he's just sooo _cute_! "

"Down girl. I'm sure there are plenty of guys in Mistral that you can assault when you get there."

Thistle blew a strand of hair out of her face, grumbling.

"Well, yeah, I guess, but none of them are here right now..."

Tukson shot the younger Faunus a glare, and she held her hands up in submission.

"Alright alright, I'll stop. No more groping, I'll save the for the guys in Mistral. Maybe I can meet another one as cute as Remus at one of the rallies."

Remus blinked, looking at his grabby compatriot. He heard more than saw the two teenage Faunus leave, and the shop was once again empty, save for the owner and employees.

"Rallies?"

"Y'know, the White Fang rallies? There's a big chapter in Mistral. My sister's actually a member over there. Last I heard they'd just done a protest in front of the civvy council building."

Tukson, who had started stacking books, paused in his actions before continuing. Remus raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What's the White Fang?"

Thistle stared at Remus incredulously.

"You mean you don't know?"

"He's from some remote village outside the kingdoms, Thistle" said Tukson "Give him a break." The older Faunus continued stacking books for a few moments before continuing, saying "The White Fang is a Faunus civil rights group, Remus. We mainly protest against systemic oppression, racism, and laws that are targeted specifically towards Faunus. We...well, there's been more than a little bit of opposition to our ideas, but we are making progress. The group's been around for round about twenty years, ever since the latest Faunus War. I'm a member, same as Thistle. Have been for most of my life."

Remus blinked in surprise. He'd read up on the Faunus Rights Revolution extensively, due to his 'condition', and now that he thought about it, there _had_ been a single mention of a group called the White Fang, how it was a collection of Faunus that came into being after the war, and that currently fought for equality. However, beyond that one line, the organization was never mentioned again, in any of the texts that Remus had read on his Scroll.

"You'd think a group like that would make it into more of the history books."

Tukson snorted, a bitter smile on his face.

"If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that the person who controls knowledge controls power." Tukson shook a book at Remus nose "Why do you think I own a bookshop? One of our biggest sellers is a textbook detailing Faunus history that's written by an actual _Faunus_ , not some stuffy _human_ from Atlas who still thinks we go into heat every month like animals."

Tukson shook his head and continued.

"The textbook manufacturers in all four kingdoms don't see it that way though. To them, the Faunus Rights Revolution is 'too recent' to be real history, so they label it as a current event and only give the barest of passages as to what _actually_ happened. The White Fang doesn't even warrant that much attention, and so our organization has been relegated to a single line in most history books. No one cares about peaceful protesters."

Remus heard a growl, which surprisingly had come from Thistle.

"They'd write more about us if we stopped being so peaceful."

Tukson finished stacking books and turned to the purple haired girl with a sigh.

"I've told you before and I'll tell you now, violence is _not_ the solution. You think people are going to accept the Faunus if we start acting like terrorists? No, they'll hate us even more. My old man fought in the war, and afterwards, he helped make the White Fang what it is today; protesting, petitioning, and working through the legal system. If anyone had reason to resort to violence, it would've been him and the other founders, but they _didn't_. You know why? Because they knew, same as I do, that the best way to change a problem is from the inside. Only by working through the law can we change it."

Thistle huffed, her arms crossed.

"And what do we have to show for it? Twenty years of protests, and we've only just convinced the Vale council to repeal Prop C619."

Remus, who had been following the flow of the conversation silently, asked "Prop C619?"

"A voting restriction. Faunus were only allowed to vote if they subjected themselves to a blood test before entering the voting booth."

Remus frowned, confused.

"Why would they do that?"

Thistle was the one who answered him, an uncharacteristically angry look on her face.

"They wanted to make sure we weren't _rabid_ , those racist bastards."

"You know there was more to it than just racism, Thistle." interjected Tukson "Venken's Disease was a serious problem for Faunus, once upon a time. It was a holdover that had its reasons for existing, back in the day."

Remus raised a hand and said "Ok, I am totally lost here."

Tukson nodded, understanding.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. It isn't very common knowledge, unless you're a political science major. Venken's Disease is a condition that was somewhat common in the Faunus population about fifty years ago. It wasn't usually fatal, but whoever was infected would begin behaving...erratically...once they caught it. Severe cases were easy to spot, as they'd foam at the mouth and attack people, put the majority of infected people just acted a little bit _off_."

Tukson scratched one of his sideburns "One of the main requirements to vote on any measure in any one of the four kingdoms is a sound mind; we don't want people voting if they don't have full control over their own actions, the kingdoms are big on personal freedom like that. So, the blood test was put in place to check for the disease. The _problem_ was that the test was never applied to humans, seeing as how less than one percent of them can even contract the disease. And, in the last fifty years a vaccine has been developed for Venken's, so it's pretty much vanished from the Faunus population."

"But the blood test stuck around." concluded Remus.

"Bingo. And a lot of Faunus didn't like that. Said it wasn't fair to single them out for blood tests, said the council was keeping the law on the books to drive down Faunus voting numbers. After all, if you've got to be poked and prodded with needles just to vote, you're probably a lot less likely to go to the polls. They've denied us for years, saying that it was still necessary. But, well, last year our efforts finally paid off, the council listened to us. C619 is off the books in Vale, Vacuo, and Mistral, and Atlas should be following their lead soon. That's the White Fang at work."

Remus nodded slowly.

"Well...that's good then."

Thistle huffed again.

"It should have happened sooner. Protesting takes way too long."

Tukson shook his head at his employee in fond exasperation.

"You're a good kid Thistle, but change isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Things will get better. You've just gotta have a little faith."

As Thistle continued grumbling, Remus thought on what the two of them had told him. The situation of the Faunus reminded him more and more of the werewolves back home, though it was becoming more evident that Faunus did have more rights than he had had back in Britain. Werewolf rights barely even existed in Remus' home country; as Dark Creatures, they could be arrested and tried for minor crimes before being exiled. Luckily, Azkaban was off the table except for the most serious crimes, but if a werewolf bit another human, even unintentionally, there was a good chance they would be thrown into the wizarding prison.

Faunus at least had basic rights, though they did still suffer from discrimination and a number of unjust laws. And Remus was a Faunus now...

"Hey Tukson?"

Tukson grunted from the shelf was was squatting by as he arranged some more books.

"When's the next White Fang meeting?"

* * *

 **Yeah, that's Remus' intro to the White Fang. Keep in mind, the organization is still very much a peaceful one right now. I always theorized that Tukson left because he was uncomfortable with the direction the White Fang was taking; he'd tried to stick with his brothers during the years that they went from peaceful to violent, but he'd eventually gotten fed up and decided to leave. That's how I saw it anyways.**

 **And for those of you who are wondering...yeah, there is definitely a reason the rabid Grimm are mentioned in the same chapter as Venken's Disease. What could it all mean, dun dun DUN! Well, you'll just have to find out in later chapters, won't you?**

 **Z.R. Stein is out, peace!**


	9. Chapter 9: Stone Soup and a Party

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Sorry for the wait, dudes and dudettes. My muse fled and life is just….ugh. But I am back, and here is a new chapter! Oh, and fair warning, next chapter will be full of timeskips, and it will push the story forwards by three years. And I make a solemn vow that I will get it out within a week; there's been enough waiting around on my part.**

* * *

 _There's no such thing as a painless lesson, they just don't exist. Sacrifices are necessary, you can't gain something without losing something first. —Edward Elric_

. . .

Headmaster Ozpin perused the Scroll in front of him, silvery eyebrows raised and eyes widened in a rare display of emotion.

"And you're sure?"

Qrow and Sirius both nodded, the two men solemn. Qrow unscrewed the top of a flask that he'd withdrawn from his jacket and drank, taking a moment to wet his throat before speaking.

"Never seen anything like it, Oz. Grimm aren't supposed to do that. Normally, at least. Somethin' musta been wrong with em. You have any ideas what?"

Ozpin set down his Scroll, flicking his fingers across the glass to close out Qrow's notes.

"Perhaps. Nothing certain though."

Ozpin set down his Scroll and steepled his fingers. After a few moments of silence, he looked to the other man in the room.

"Do you have anything else to add, Mister Black?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't think so, Qrow recorded all of my observations in the Scroll."

Ozpin nodded, frowning.

"Excellent work then, both of you. This new development is very troubling, but I'll do what I can. Moving on though...how are you finding the life of a huntsman, Mister Black? This was you first official mission, was it not?"

Sirius stroked his chin for a moment before shrugging.

"Mhmm. Can't say it was easy, but we managed."

"Indeed. Huntsmen do not walk an easy path, as I told you upon our first meeting."

Sirius scratched at his stubble and responded "No, but...all things considered, I'm bloody well certain I made the right choice. Going out there, seeing how defenseless most of the villages in the kingdom are...there _need_ to be people like Qrow out there. If we hadn't been there when those Grimm attacked, there'd be another ghost town decorating the landscape. I couldn't live with myself if I just stood by and did nothing while I knew that somethin' like that was happening. Doesn't matter how bloody hard it is."

Ozpin smiled minutely.

"Strong words. It always does my heart good to hear a potential Huntsman or Huntress fully embrace their calling. Although, I do hope Qrow isn't pushing you too hard?"

Sirius snorted and responded "He's a right insane wanker. I don't know what they teach at Beacon, but I can assume that your students don't spend their days looking over their shoulder just in case their teachers try to sneak attack them?"

Ozpin turned his gaze to Qrow, who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Hey, it's called situational awareness. If you're always on guard, nothing can stab you in the back."

"Hmmm." said Ozpin, taking a sip of coffee "Well, I am not going to question your teaching methods, Qrow; you are Mister Black's appointed overseer, not me. Now, was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?"

Sirius coughed, drawing the attention of the other two men.

"Heh, yeah, actually, Lily was wondering if you had any books on magic? She's been wondering what you've got, seeing as you're a wizard and all. She'd like to compare and contrast...see if it's any different from back home...if it's not too much trouble."

Ozpin held Sirius' gaze for a moment before nodding.

"I'll see what I can find in my collection and send a few texts to her. If that is all, Mister Black, Mister Branwen, I bid you good day."

The two younger men nodded and sauntered into the elevator, leaving Ozpin alone in his office. The Headmaster hummed and turned his chair, gazing out the window.

"Overtly aggressive Grimm who attack their own fellows...a natural occurrence or something more sinister? Hmmmm. It's unlikely that _she_ would be behind it, it doesn't match her usual moves. Who then? Perhaps...well, there always was a chance that he survived the fall of Mountain Glenn."

Turning back to his desk, Ozpin pulled up his monitor screen and began typing. After a few moments, a file folder appeared on screen.

"Is this your doing, my old friend? Another of your experiments gone wrong?"

. . .

Lily and Clover walked with Harry and Velvet through downtown Vale, the two women enjoying the midday sun. Up ahead, Lily could see an elderly shopkeeper putting up a sign over a newly opened Dust shop named _From Dust Till Dawn_. Lily smiled at the sight, and closed her eyes momentarily. It felt good to have a life again; with the war on back in Britain, she'd almost forgotten what normalcy was like. Beside her, Clover kept a weather eye on the children; Velvet was prancing around Harry, singing a nonsensical song while Harry giggled, his stumpy little legs trying to keep up with the older girl's movements.

"Don't stray too far kids. Vale is a nice place to live, but there are always people to look out for."

"Don't worry mommy, I won't go too far. Right Harry?"

"Ya!"

Lily smiled at the bond that was developing between the two children.

"They're so cute together."

Clover nodded in agreement.

"They are. Though they can be a handful at times."

Lily rolled her eyes in remembrance.

"If you had just locked the cabinet door…"

Clover groaned in suppressed horror at that particular occurrence.

"I know. I _know_. Never again. That is the last time I clean up two children covered in ash, whipped cream, pickled plants, and Water Dust...speaking of, why do you even have whipped cream in your potions cabinet? I mean, the other stuff I understand, but whipped cream doesn't seem very...magical."

Lily shrugged and said with a completely straight face "Surprisingly enough, a can of whipped cream works as a great fire extinguisher."

Clover's brows scrunched together.

"Why not use an actual fire extinguisher? Wouldn't that be way more effective?"

"Whipped cream is tastier."

Clover opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling for a response while Lily's lips twitched.

"Uhhh...wait a second...isn't whipped cream flammable?"

Lily snickered before saying "Heh...that look on your face. I was joking about the fire extinguisher thing. Sugar and dairy both act as a stabilizing agent for certain potions. It helps keep them from exploding if I do something wrong. And whipped cream comes into an easy to spray can, so I keep a few around my lab."

Clover looked at Lily with a deadpan expression for a few moments before turning away, muttering under her breath.

"Oum damned wizards."

Lily snickered before elbowing Clover in the side and glancing back down the street.

"Hey, we're not too far away from where Remus works. You want to swing by and say hi?"

Clover blushed at the mention of Remus, ducking her head.

"Oh...uh...sure."

Lily raised an eyebrow, a vulpine smirk growing on her face.

"Oooh? What's this then, are you gaining a little crush on Remus?"

"What? No!" Clover began, before stopping. She deflated slightly, becoming somber. "I don't know. Maybe? I think I might, but...it's complicated. He's sweet, and bookish, and if I weren't still waiting for Hazel...it's...it's been nearly two years since he was kidnapped. I want to believe he's coming back. I try to hold out hope, you know? But I think I acknowledge, deep in my heart, that my husband isn't going to come back, that somewhere out there in this wide world, his body is decaying in a ditch. Hazel wasn't the type to give up. But it's just...however lonely I am, it feels like I'm betraying my husband by wanting to be with someone else. Even if he never comes back."

Lily frowned, a strange look on her face.

"But that doesn't mean you should condemn yourself to celibacy for the rest of your life."

Clover sighed, her ears drooping.

"I...I'll think about it."

Lily squeezed Clover's arm.

"That's all I can ask. Life is too precious to waste like that. I don't think your husband would fault you for wanting to be happy. You've been alone for two years; I say that's long enough."

Clover sniffed, and jerked her head. Drying her eyes, she smiled wryly.

"I do wonder though, does this mean you're willing to move on from James?"

Lily stiffened, her face moving through several different emotions. She ran a hand through her hair, groaning.

"We are not talking about this, Clover."

"Turnabout is fair play, Lily. But if you really don't want to talk about it, I'll respect that." Clover said softly.

The redhead groaned again.

"No...you're right. I haven't...haven't really thought about it. At all. I've been too busy setting up my life again to even consider asking someone out."

"But you would if given the chance with the right person?"

"I guess?"

Clover tapped a single finger on her chin.

"What about Qrow? He seemed nice enough."

Lily stopped in the middle of the street, eye twitching. Clover noticed after a few seconds and stopped as well.

"Qrow?"

"Yep."

"The drunken sleazebag who spent his first visit ogling me?"

Clover smirked.

"Well, from what you told me about James, he started off the same way, didn't he?"

Lily's eye twitched again.

"Yes...but...no. No. _No_. _**No**_. No way in hell am I...the nerve of...Qrow? _Ugh_!"

Lily stalked off in a huff, while Clover trailed behind, one hand covering her smile.

. . .

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every—oh, hello Lily, C-clover."

Remus cursed himself for the tiny stutter in his voice on seeing Clover. He'd never been good at romancing women (not that girls were exactly lining up to date a werewolf), and the bunny Faunus was very beautiful. _Aaaaand_ she was married, Remus reminded himself immediately. Even if her husband wasn't present in body, she was still taken. Very taken. _So_ very taken, he couldn't even entertain the possibility of them being together...not that they ever would be, _pshhh_ , it wasn't like Clover would ever be interested in him. That was just patently ridiculous.

Remus sighed, brushing away all thoughts of a possible romance; his first job in Remnant wasn't the time or place for that. He cleared his throat and continued "You two here for a reason?"

The way that Lily was eying him was slightly worrying, but he was sure it was nothing. She had often acquired a manic gleam in her eyes when they were students at Hogwarts, and being in Remnant had only enhanced her 'mad scientist side'.

"Just browsing. Come on Harry, let's pick you up some picture books."

"Book!"

Remus smiled as little Harry toddled towards the children's section, Lily and Clover shadowing him. He then heard a small cough coming from the edge of the counter. Looking down, Remus saw Velvet.

"Hello Velvet, what can I do for you? Did you want to look at some books?"

Velvet cocked her head to the side, the four year old blinking guilelessly.

"What is a crush?"

Remus blinked, caught off guard by the apparent non sequitur.

"A what?"

"A crush? Mommy and Aunt Lily were talking about it on the way up here."

Remus opened his mouth, closed it, and then said "Umm...a crush is someone that you like. In a...romantic...way. Why? Who was your mommy talking about?"

If anyone had overheard them at that moment, Remus would have denied any accusations that his voice sounded hopeful.

Scrunching up her face, Velvet looked Remus over before a metaphorical lightbulb clicked on in her head.

"Why don't you go ask Mommy?"

Remus' eyes widened, and he began to protest.

"Oh, I can't, I'm working. Besides, it's not that important—"

"What's not that important?"

Behind Remus, Tukson pushed his way through the double doors that led to the backroom. He looked down at Velvet and smiled.

"Hello there little lady. What brings you here to my shop today?"

Velvet looked at the raven-haired man, her eyes growing round.

"Woah...you're really big!"

Tukson chuckled and leaned on the counter, resting his muscular forearms on the wooden surface.

"And you're really small, kiddo."

Pouting, Velvet shook a tiny fist at him.

"I am not small! I am tall for my age, yes sirry don't you forget it!"

"I think most of that is from your ears, pipsqueak."

"Don't call me that! My Auntie is scary, you don't want to mess with her! She'll turn you into newt!"

Tukson laughed again, harder this time. When he finally stopped, a quick glance at Velvet's puffed out face was almost enough to send him over the edge again. This kid was just too adorable when she was angry.

"A newt? Is your Auntie a witch?"

Velvet nodded vehemently and was about to continue before Remus cut her off insistently.

" _Velvet_ , why don't you _go_ get your mother and Lily, ok?"

Velvet crossed her arms, huffed, and stomped off. Remus turned to Tukson, a wry smile on his face.

"She's a handful sometimes, I can tell you that."

Tukson grinned and responded "Yeah, she's got spirit. What was that about a newt though? Never heard of a Semblance like that."

Remus grin changed, becoming much les genuine.

"Ah...kids say strange things sometimes. I don't have any idea where she got that from."

Tukson shrugged, not catching onto Remus' lie.

"Never had kids myself, so I wouldn't really know. Still, it must be nice to have your own daughter."

Remus nodded reflexively, then caught himself, eyes widening.

"Oh. Oh, no, she's not mine."

Tukson frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

"Really? Coulda fooled me with the way you act around her."

"She's not. Clover's a...family friend, I suppose you say, and Velvet is her daughter, so she comes by to our flat."

Tukson grunted, choosing not to comment.

"Mmm. Regardless, you have my thanks. Any new customers are good customers as long as they respect me and my shop. I knew hiring you was a good idea."

Tukson walked off, moving towards the children's section where Lily, Harry, and Clover were giggling together. Remus breathed a small sigh of relief. Honestly, Velvet needed to learn tact. He knew Clover had gone over keeping their nature as wizards a secret, but the young Faunus girl apparently hadn't committed the message to memory. He'd need to speak with her later.

Lily, Clover, and Harry soon bid Remus goodbye, leaving with their purchases, Tukson waving after them before he went back to the backroom, stating that he needed to restock. Lily had said they didn't want to bother him any more than they already had, which Remus somewhat agreed with. Not that having Clover and Velvet around bothered him exactly...

The ringing of the entryway bell stopped that train of thought, and Remus quickly smiled and repeated the catchphrase.

"Welcome to Tukson's Booktrade, home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?"

Entering the shop was a couple with two young girls, one with bright yellow hair, the other with black hair streaked with red. Behind the children stood their parents, a lovely young woman with silver eyes and a flowing white cloak, and a blond man with a tattoo on his arm. Their hair colours matched those of their children, and Remus knew by looking at them that they were both fighters. It was in the carefully measured way the woman moved, in the subdued power of the man's footsteps. Remus tensed slightly. It wasn't that he thought either of these people would actually hurt him, it was just difficult to relax in the presence of a stranger who could effortlessly slaughter hundreds of people with their bare hands if they chose to do so.

The woman's lips quirked upon seeing Remus, and she said "Well, would you look at that, Tukson hired someone new. Where's Thistle gone to then?"

Remus relaxed. If they knew Tukson, they could be trusted. Despite knowing the Faunus man for only a short while, Tukson had struck him as being a very good judge of character.

"She moved to be with her sister in Mistral. I'm her replacement, Remus Lupin, how do you do?" Remus said, his hand extended.

The woman raised an eyebrow before shaking Remus' hand.

"Remus Lupin...you wouldn't happen to be that friend of Sirius Black that I've heard about?"

Remus raised his eyebrows as well.

"You know Sirius?"

The woman shook her head.

"Not really. Qrow _still_ hasn't introduced us. I'm beginning to think they're sleeping together or something."

Beside the woman, the man choked incredulously, echoing Remus own startled amusement. The woman simply smiled angelically.

After taking a moment to store the memory in a special place in his mind to needle Sirius over later, Remus smiled back at the woman.

"Judging from that, I think it's safe to say you two are Qrow's old teammates, Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long, right?"

Summer smiled and curtseyed.

"In the flesh. It's nice to meet another of Sirius' friends. At this rate, we'll meet everyone in your little family before we meet the man himself."

Remus laughed softly.

"Heh...well, he can be hard to pin down in one place for long sometimes, and from the few times I've met Qrow, he seems the same way. They aren't exactly the type to sit down for a big family gathering and have dinner, now, are they?"

Summer nodded before adopting a contemplative pose.

"Actually...you _know_ , that's not a bad idea."

Remus tilted his head.

"What's not a bad idea?"

"Well, why don't we all get together for dinner? We've only met Lily once, and I really would like to get to know you three better. It isn't every day Qrow takes on an apprentice."

Tai sent his wife a look of exasperated fondness.

"Qrow has never taken on an apprentice before."

"Exactly. It isn't every day he takes on an apprentice."

"But your statement doesn't work, honey, it's logically unsound, it only makes sense if—"

Summer pulled Tai down to her level, her eyes half lidded, a predatory smile on her face.

"I said. _Exactly_."

Taiyang gulped and waved his hands.

"You have an unparalleled mastery of language, honey. I agree, it _isn't_ every day Qrow takes on an apprentice."

Summer's grin transformed into something much more satisfied at that, and she skipped off with the girls to go look at books.

Left beyond, Taiyang shot Remus a look as well.

"She has a rather... _unique_ outlook on language."

Remus smirked and said "I can tell."

"Oh trust me, this was mild. Yesterday she went off on a tangent for half an hour, wondering what the word 'whelmed' means."

"Whelmed?"

"Yeah, you know, like _over_ whelmed and _under_ whelmed? What does just _whelmed_ mean?"

Remus frowned.

"I...have no idea."

"Me neither bud, me neither."

Shaking his head, Remus traced back through the conversation, trying to get back on track.

"Anyways...linguistics quirks aside, you guys serious about this dinner thing?"

Taiyang shrugged.

"I think so. It'd be a good chance to get to know each other. Meeting Lily was nice, but we didn't talk for too long."

Remus nodded and pulled out his Scroll.

"Right. I suppose I'll call Lily and see if I can arrange something...and Sirius as well, since he's the one you two actually want to meet."

"Cool. You do that. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna get back to my wife. Toodles, wolfman."

Remus frowned at the nickname, his ears twitching. He was sure that Taiyang didn't mean anything by it, but after years of more harmful insults, he didn't really appreciate the casual address. But, deciding to let it slide for now, Remus flicked through his Scroll to Lily's number.

. . .

The dinner ended up being held at a restaurant in downtown Vale called _The Stone Soup Pot_ , which was often used to host parties as it served extremely large portions in giant cast iron cauldrons. After informing Lily and Sirius, Remus had apologized to Tukson for using store time for personal matters. The man had simply slapped him on the back and told him to forget about it, though he did ask to be invited; he said that Tai and Summer visited his shop occasionally and that he wanted to catch up with them. Remus had agreed to tell Lily to add one more to the dinner list. He should have known it wouldn't be that simple.

In the end, the gathering ended up much larger than planned. Not only did Tukson come, but so did Clover and Velvet, and oddly enough, Ozpin himself with his assistant Glynda in tow. All told, that made the dinner consist of ten adults (Lily, Remus, Sirius, Qrow, Clover, Tai, Summer, Tukson, Ozpin, and Glynda) and four children (Harry, Yang, Ruby, and Velvet), and the result was both chaotic and comforting in a messy familial way.

"Yo, Oz, pass the bread!"

"Mind your manners Qrow!"

"Sheesh, Summer, didja have to whack me upside the head like that?"

"What is it with me and marrying scary women?"

"Did I hear what I think I heard Tai? Because I better not have."

"Eep! No mam!"

The ten adults sat at one large, circular table, the children sitting at their own smaller one. Pots of steaming soup and bread littered the center of the table, with a rack of glazed venison off to the side.

As the dinner started, the adults all broke off into smaller conversation bubbles. Summer, Lily, and Clover were conversing in one group, the topic of conversation moving from motherhood to Dust theory to the best way to decapitate a Beowolf. Nearby was the 'huntsman' group, consisting of Sirius, Glynda, Qrow, and Taiyang. Tai was joking around with Sirius and Qrow while Glynda occasionally added in a well placed barb or acerbic comment, rolling her eyes at Sirius' attempts to hit on her.

The third group, consisting of Ozpin, Clover, and Tukson, was mostly silent, taking the time to watch the other members of the party eat, drink, and be merry. That's not to say though that they were completely silent...

"So...you're Professor Ozpin."

Ozpin raised a single cultured eyebrow at the rabbit Faunus before nodding.

"Indeed I am. And you would be Miss Scarlatina, correct?"

Clover nodded, a small blush on her face.

"It's an honour to meet you, Professor. I've...your position on the Vale Council is well noted, as is your stance in favour of Faunus rights. It's always nice to know that at least someone in the government in on our side."

Tukson nodded in agreement; while he wasn't starstruck like Clover was, he did hold a large amount of respect for the Headmaster. Ozpin smiled minutely, taking a moment to slip a spoonful of food into his mouth and swallowing before answering.

"It is my philosophy and that of Beacon Academy that your background does not matter; your actions are what truly determine who you are. Rich or poor, human or Faunus, straight or queer, old or young...whatever the colour of your skin or the Kingdom that you hail from, all that matters is how you treat those around you. Sadly, a handful of my compatriots on the council do not share my viewpoint. Jonathan Winchester in particular has been troublesome of late…"

Tukson snorted, eyes flashing.

"Jonathan Winchester has always been a problem for Faunus, especially for those of us who live in Vale. Between him and Schnee, I'm not sure who's worse. Dust mines are terrible, but there's just something so slimey about a real estate mogul with an agenda as blatant as his. Bastard runs his mouth about gentrifying neighborhoods, when all he's really doing is tossing out law abiding Faunus on their asses to make way for more people like _him_. Cheh. I saw him in person at one of the protests, don't know who he's fooling with that hairpiece."

Ozpin hummed in agreement, taking another spoonful of soup while Clover turned to address Tukson.

"You're White Fang?"

Tukson nodded, coming down from his rant.

"Are you?"

Clover rubbed her arm, looking down.

"I...I used to be. I went to some of the rallies with Hazel, marched a few times. Ever since he disappeared though, I've just kind of...stopped going."

Tukson nodded amiably.

"I may champion the White Fang, but what we do isn't for everybody. Don't feel any shame for not taking part all the time."

Clover smiled hesitantly.

Across the table, Lily, Summer, Sirius, and Taiyang had formed a new conversation group, Yang and Harry sitting on their respective mother's laps.

"So Sirius, Lily's told us come about you, but we're still lacking so many relevant details. Tell us more about yourself."

Smiling broadly, Sirius puffed his chest out as he began speaking about one of his favorite topics. Himself.

"Well, I'm a brave and bold Huntsman with dashing good looks and a wit as sharp as my sword. I can charm any woman and lay waste to any monster I lay my eyes on."

Summer stared at Sirius deadpan for a moment before her hand found its way to her face.

"Oum's bleeding heart, he really is just like Qrow."

Chuckling, Tai petted his wife's head as she facepalmed.

"They're similar honey, but I wouldn't say they're the same. Sirius seems more energetic and mischievous."

"Ok, so he's worse than Qrow?"

"Hey!" came two indignant replies, one from Qrow and one from Sirius.

Lily giggled, wiping Harry's chin free of gunk with a napkin.

"Back in our hometown, Sirius was known as the master of pranks. Together with James and Remus, they formed the roving band of misfits known as the Marauders. What was your cute little catchphrase again, Sirius?"

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." replied Sirius, pouting slightly at the 'cute' comment. Off to the side, Glynda glared frostily at Sirius.

"I am suddenly very glad that you never entered into my school, Mister Black. I do not tolerate troublemakers, especially ones as prolific as you seem to be. Those who attend Beacon are meant to be the future defenders of the world; there is a requirement to keep a certain sense of decorum about oneself at all times...and I assure you, if you had been enrolled in Beacon, I would have _beaten_ such insolence out of you." Glynda slapped her riding crop against her open hand for emphasis.

Sirius swallowed thickly, and vowed not to get on Glynda's bad side. Though there was something incredibly enticing about a strong woman...

As the night wore on, people gradually left. Ozpin and Glynda excused themselves, citing a busy schedule. Clover set out as well, a sleeping Velvet in her arms, and Remus left with her, stating that he didn't feel right letting her walk home by herself during the night. The other party members shot each other knowing looks at the blushes on both Remus and Clover's faces.

"Umm" Clover began. She appreciated Remus' motion, the man was just a total sweetheart. Thinking back on the conversation she and Lily had had earlier in the day, she nodded; she wouldn't pursue Remus, but if the two of them clicked, she wouldn't fight it. Lily was right; she deserved to be happy, and she'd already waited for years. This was a second chance and she didn't intend to waste it.

"Yes, I'd appreciate that, Remus."

The three Faunus exited the room they were in and walked out the door into the quiet Vale night, the door closing behind them. Outside, the moon rose overhead, forever drifting in all its shattered glory. Remus took a brief moment to look at it before closing his eyes, remembering a time when his greatest fear was the moon itself.

"Second chances don't come all the time, do they?"

Back inside _The Stone Soup Pot_ , the six remaining adults lapsed into a quiet conversations in one big group, swapping stories and jokes as they learned more about each other. Harry cuddled up onto Lily's lap, snoozing, while Yang was thrown over her father and Ruby was drowsily blinking in Qrow's lap. Qrow and Sirius were telling Summer and Taiyang about their recent mission, the couple expressing their concern over the odd behavior of the Grimm. Tukson occasionally interjected, asking questions and stroking his (admittedly impressive) sideburns in thought. When the mood got too dark, Sirius cracked a the age old joke about his name, causing Summer to groan while Tai got a big dopey smile on his face. The two were soon engaged in a rapid fire exchange of really bad puns while Summer began banging her head on the nearest wooden post. Still, even Lily could tell a small part of Summer enjoyed it. Lily smiled at the sight. It was nice to be part of a family again.

Second chances indeed.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. A very fluffy, feel good chapter, this one is. Hope y'all enjoyed it, it was fun to write.**

 **Couple things here; can anyone guess the fairy tales/legends/historical stories that inspired the names this chapter? Brownie points if you can. One of them is the source of Clover and Hazel's names (think rabbits), one of them is the source of the restaurant's name (that one's a bit obvious), one of them is the source of the older Winchester's name (think Robin Hood). And before you complain, yes, Jonathan does relate to colour. The word is used to describe a particular kind of red apples in the US. Way for abiding by the colour naming rule!**

 **As for whoever is behind the rabid Grimm, I know some of you can guess who it is. I already gave you enough hints there.**

 **Next chapter will be a merry skip through three years of development. I know some of you don't want me to skip so much time, but if I ever want to actually get to Harry's story, I need to cut out some of the fluff. And nothing really happens for the three years anyways.**

 **Oh, and reviews are my lifeblood. Even if you have criticisms, actually strike that, ESPECIALLY if you have criticisms, leave me a review and tell about it. The longer the better.**

 **Z.R. Stein is out, PEACE!**


	10. Chapter 10: Three Years Ahead

**Z.R. Stein**

 **Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.**

 **I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.**

 **Look who's back in a timely fashion! NOT THIS GUY! *dodges shoe* I am so sorry. Life has been…*sigh* life's been rough. But, I am back, for however long that lasts!**

 **The promised timeskip chapter. I know you some of you guys have become a bit impatient, as the plot hasn't really gone anywhere. Well, rest assured, I have big things in store for Lily and co. I just needed to get them settled into their new home. Now I can actually start doing shit with them after this chapter. Things are gonna be heating up.**

 **Next chapter will resume three years after last chapter, this will cover the interim years. I also want to notify you guys that I** _ **will**_ **have a Q & A section in chapter 11, so send in your questions. I'll try to answer as many as I can.**

 **Anyways, let's get punchin'!**

* * *

 _It's not like something is going to happen because I believe in it. Sometimes you end up worse off because you believed in something too much. There are times it's tough to believe in something. —Eureka_

. . .

 **Ten Months after arrival**

Remus Lupin stood beside Tukson as he hoisted up a sign, other Faunus gathered around with their own boards. It was just past midday, with nary a breeze to ruffle the leaves of a nearby oak tree, and Remus was feeling a bit parched; nevertheless, he continued chanting with the rest of his fellows.

" _Vote for Gauri Bachchan! Say no to Winchester! Gauri for Vale Council!_ "

The group of protesters had been marching in front of the Council building for several hours, waving the standard of their chosen candidate. Upon every sign was the image of a smiling, dark skinned woman with stark white hair; underneath the picture were various inscriptions, most commonly reading ' _Faunus for Gauri_ '.

His arms burning, Remus caught the eye of another demonstrator and gestured to his sign. The young Faunus (Remus guessed some kind of bear type, given the ears) smiled and accepted Remus' burden.

"Thanks, I need a bit of a sit down. Hot day today."

"No probs, man. I got your back. There's waters by the cooler in the shade over there. _Say no to Winchester!_ "

Remus moved to the back of the group and leaned against a railing, grateful for some rest and the shade that the old oaks provided. Today was the first day of the Vale Council elections, and the local White Fang chapter had thrown their support behind Bachchan in a major way. Despite the fact that the woman was of Mistrali origins, she had lived in Vale for nearly twenty years, and thus could run for a Council seat. As an independant, her chances of winning were lower than if she had aligned with either of Vale's reigning platforms, but she, and the White Fang, were hoping that with the Faunus bloc behind her, she would have the votes to win a seat. At least then, Remus thought, all this protesting would mean something.

"Remus, catch!"

Remus twitched, trying to catch the object flying at him and utterly failing as it smacked him in the forehead. Groaning, he directed a heated glare at Tukson, who was rumbling with laughter.

"Keep yourself hydrated, Remus. We're going to be out here for at least four more hours."

Remus groaned again, though for a different reason this time.

"Think we actually have a shot at this?"

Tukson shrugged, the jovial look on his face lessening somewhat.

"You mean getting Gauri on the Council? I'd say we have a decent shot. She's a retired Huntress, so her public image is overwhelmingly positive. Put that together with our backing, and the fact that she knows her way around a negotiating table, and she's a damn fine candidate. Course...then there's Winchester."

Tukson gestured vaguely, and Remus nodded in resignation. He didn't need to elaborate any further.

"Reminds me of back home. Money and power always found a way to beat out good intentions."

Tukson shrugged.

"Yeah, well...we keep trying until things are better."

The wolf Faunus looked at the assembled crowd, a small smile adorning his face.

"Mmm...indeed...we do, don't we."

Remus unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and took a swig as the two of them lapsed into silence for a few moments. Then, Remus cracked his neck, scratched behind one of his ears, and stood up.

"Right, well, better get on with it then."

Tukson clapped him on the back.

"That's the spirit! _Gauri for Vale Council!_ "

. . .

 **Twelve Months after arrival**

Lily smoothed out the shirt she was wearing, turning this way and that, before sighing in disgust.

"I look frumpy."

Behind her, Clover groaned and patted her on the shoulders.

"Lily, deary, we've been over this. You do not look frumpy. You're beautiful, and lovely, and you are going to go on this date! It will be good for you!"

Looking back at the mirror, Lily frowned.

"I still can't believe you talked him into asking me."

"Qrow is not that bad, honestly. You talk about him like he's a—"

"A womanizing alcoholic with a rampant disregard for propriety or his own personal hygiene?" Lily finished in a deadpan tone of voice.

Clover huffed, raised her finger, then lowered it.

"You do have a point…"

Lily rolled her eyes and responded "We can't all be you and be lucky enough to find a diamond in the rough like Remus."

Clover blushed slightly.

"...ahem. True, my uh...boyfriend? It feels so strange to say that again; my boyfriend is very sweet. But Qrow is too! He's charming, and handsome, and a Huntsman, and I know for a fact that he likes you! You just need to break past the outer asshole and get to the crunchy inner sweet meat."

"That sounds wrong on so many levels."

"Doesn't change what I'm saying."

Lily groaned, massaging her temples.

"Urgh! Alright! I agreed to go with him, you don't have to hound me anymore. I just...can't see how things are going to work out between us."

Clover looked at Lily with empathetic brown eyes.

"Is this about James?"

Lily rolled her shoulders in a non commitive sort of way.

"Partially? It's been over a year, but...well, you know well enough how it feels. I think the larger part is that I can't help but see Qrow without comparing him to James."

"Too much similar or too much different?" Clover asked.

"I don't know. Both, maybe."

Clover nodded, her hand on her chin.

"Well, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. You'll have tried something, gone out of your comfort zone, and that's what's important; I do need to keep you from becoming a hermit."

Lily narrowed her eyes.

"You take that back!"

"Nope! It's true, if you could stay in your lab every day you would!"

"Get back here! Ugh, when I get my hands on you, rabbit!"

"Says the frumpy one?"

"I KNEW IT, I DO LOOK FRUMPY!"

. . .

Qrow stared deep into Lily's eyes as the sun set, shops in Vale just beginning to turn on their outdoor lights. Church bells sounded as somewhere, someone was getting married.

It was not the two of them.

"Well...no offense, but this was bloody horrible, Qrow."

Qrow winced as he recalled the evening the two of them had just had. While it hadn't been the worst date that he had ever been on...it certainly deserved to be in the top three...bottom three? Though that wasn't through any conscious effort on either of their parts. Rather, it had simply been painfully awkward for them to interact with each other without anyone else in the mix to break the tension; well, that and a few accidents that he attributed to his ' _Branwen luck_ '. Hopefully Lily wouldn't hold it against him.

"Yeah, well...sorry."

Lily waved it away.

"Not your fault, Qrow. At least now I can get Clover off my back about going out with someone, at least for the next few months."

Qrow nodded; he'd been getting similar treatment from Sirius, though whether his apprentice was being genuinely supportive or just being his usual irreverent self was another matter entirely.

"So...wanna go get drunk and forget this ever happened?"

"Oum yes. You're buying."

. . .

 **Twenty Months after arrival**

Harry and Ruby stared at each other with gimlet eyes, threat pouring from every pore as they stalked their prey. Neither would budge to allow the other predator access to the last bountiful morsel, yet neither was willing to make the first move. Fingers twitched as the tension increased, the very air thrumming with suppressed energy.

One room over, Taiyang and Remus watched with amusement as the pair of two year olds circled around the table.

Looking up from her show, Yang noticed her father and her father's Faunus friend suppressing grins as they looked into the dining area.

"Are they doing the thing again?"

"Yeah" said Tai.

"Ten Lien says Harry gets it this time." replied Remus.

"Oh, I am so in on that action, man. Come on Ruby, daddy wants him some monaaay~"

Back in the kitchen, Harry ignored the sweatdrop that threatened to trail into his eye; one finger twitch too far from Ruby and he lunged, sweet sweet victory in his grasp—

"HAH!" screamed Ruby, and in a blur of motion, the last cookie was snatched up from the table. The toddler cackled maniacally as she ran away, the cookie held over her head.

"It's mine! My own! MY PRECIOUS!"

Harry ran after her, his babyish features scrunched up in righteous indignation.

"Come on, at least give me half! Pleeaaaase!?"

"No, I won it fair and square! This cookie ain't big enough for the two of us! HahahaHAHA"

As the two barrelled around the Xiao Long-Rose residence in reckless abandon, Remus turned to Tai with a sour look on his face. He removed his wallet and slowly slid out a single card of Lien.

"I swear she's faster than any two year old has a right to be…"

Tai shrugged good naturedly and patted him on the shoulder in condolence.

"Don't I know it. Summer and I think she'll probably have some sort of speed Semblance when she grows up. Kid's got moves. But that's neither here nor there." Tai flexed his hand in front of Remus' face. "Pay up, wolfy. That's my Lien you're holding."

Rolling her eyes at the two adults, Yang turned her attention back to her show. _The Last Aurabender_ was on and she didn't want to miss anything.

. . .

 **Two Years after arrival**

Clover stabbed a ravioli and gestured with it to Remus, clearly annoyed.

"And then! And then Schnee had the nerve to call our qualifications into question! That no good, stuck up, half witted—"

Remus halted the building tirade by laying his hands on top of Clover's.

"Believe me, I understand. But you were approved, so something must have happened?"

Clover nodded.

"Ironwood, surprisingly. As the new kid on the block, I didn't think he'd stick up for two unknown researchers from Vale, but he did. He voted Schnee down, thank Oum. So, we're finally out of bureaucratic limbo, even with the Mistril council opposing us on principle. As of today, Lily's Grimm repellant is officially approved by three of the four Kingdoms and is ready to be produced. Here's to success and shoving it in that asshole's face."

Clover stabbed another ravioli and chewed it with particularly vindictive pleasure. Remus grinned fondly and settled back into his chair.

"That's good news. How do you think this is going to change things?"

Clover shrugged, pursing her lips.

"Lily and I had a number of long talks with Ozpin and the teachers at Beacon about the Grimm Repellant. Lily's method isn't really scientifically viable for mass production, and Lily doesn't know of any shortcuts that aren't... _suspicious_ in nature." Clover stressed the word, leaving unspoken the implied 'magical'. "Still, despite that, if a few labs start churning the repellant out, there should be a steady enough supply for all active duty Huntsmen and Huntresses to have a can. It'll be expensive, but the ability to ward away Grimm for several days is worth it."

Remus nodded in agreement. While he didn't speak with Lily as much these days (most of his time being spent working for Tukson or attending various White Fang events, along with occasional dates with Clover), he knew enough about her pet project to extrapolate. The Grimm repellant was composed of a can of aerosolized Dust that had been altered to both deter and harm Grimm who came into contact with it. The Dust could be used as a form of Grimm pepper spray for a last resort, though the main use would be to create a "sort of temporary, conceptual electrified fence when you spray it on the ground" in Lily's own words. It wasn't a physical obstacle, so a Grimm sufficiently enraged would chance charging through, but that action would dull the monsters senses and slow its reflexes, making it weaker and much easier to kill. Smarter Grimm would simply wait outside the bounds of the repellant or move around it, unless the Huntsman sprayed it on themselves; preliminary testing had revealed that most Grimm would follow such an individual, but not attack. Though all of the scientists had agreed that spraying oneself with the repellant wasn't a good long term idea as it did present a significant health risk.

Still, despite it not being quite what Lily had wanted, the Grimm Repellant was expected to sell hugely well among Huntsmen and Huntresses, as well as other groups like the Atlesian military and the White Fang. The ability to partially seal off areas that would otherwise be considered indefensible was a huge boon, and the Vale Council had jumped at the chance to toot their own horn that _their_ scientist was the one to come up with such a technology, instead of Atlas. Though, Remus supposed, Lily did have a rather unfair advantage, being a witch and all.

Clover took a sip from her champagne glass and resumed speaking.

"The best part is that with a product successfully out of limbo, Lily can get all of her other stuff processed that much more quickly. I know for a fact that she's going to be meeting with Ozpin to approve tests for other custom aerosols, like the Concealment Dust."

Remus nodded, spinning the fork around in his hand idly.

"It seems that things are looking up for the two of you. I'm glad that Lily has a good friend like you by her side."

Clover smiled brightly.

"True. But don't forget, I'm by your side too, Remus."

Remus raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"And I'm by yours, Bun-bun."

Clover's smile turned into a blush.

"That's such an embarrassing nickname. Couldn't you have picked something a little bit more...dignified?"

"It suits how adorable you look all the time."

Clover's blush deepened. She reached for her fork and stabbed the last ravioli, trying to regain her footing. Upon trying to her chew it, her eyes shot open and she spat the ravioli out in shock. Something hard _tinked_ on her plate.

"What the hell is that?"

Sifting through the half chewed ravioli, Clover withdrew a moderately slimy golden ring. She looked up at Remus, thunderstruck.

Remus laughed awkwardly, not meeting Clover's eyes.

"It was Sirius' idea to put it in the ravioli. He thought it was romantic. Or maybe he just wanted to mess with you...so...umm." Remus tensed, suddenly moving down on one knee, eyes still avoiding Clover's face. "Clover Scarlatina...would you be willing to marry a man like me?"

Still looking away, Remus waited several moments as he waited for her response. Finally, he felt a finger tip his chin upwards.

"Not a man like you, no. You though...I'd be willing to take that step."

Remus blinked in momentary shock before a blinding grin grew on his face.

"YES!"

. . .

 **Thirty Months after arrival**

Lily smiled as one of her two remaining Earthly friends walked forward, arm in arm with her closest Remnantian friend as melodic music filled the air. The two of them strode into a clearing in the center of the guests' seating, and turned towards each other as friends and family looked on.

It occurred to Lily that in attending this wedding, she had now witnessed three very different wedding ceremonies for three very different cultures. While British Muggle Weddings typically took place either in Anglican churches or at an 'Approved Premises' like an old castle or a hotel, and British Wizarding weddings were almost always held at the husband's ancestral household, Valish weddings tended to happen in the huge, open air pavilions that worshippers of Oum used to congregate in. People sat in chairs, or beanbags, or even on the bare flagstones; this was no place for decorum, but for joy.

Remus grasped Clover's hands and smiled at her, drinking in his fiance's features for a long moment. At this moment, he considered himself to be the luckiest fool in the world. In any world.

The clearing of a throat caught Remus' attention, and he dropped Velvet's hands. To the side, Tukson smiled back at the happy couple, and he hefted the sword on his shoulder.

"Ready to get on with it, wolfy? We don't have all day."

A ripple of laughter spread through the assembled, and Remus nodded, a slight dusting of red on his cheeks.

Tukson nodded back and swung the sword down until its tip was buried in the ground.

"Remus Lupin. Clover Scarlatina. Today, you stand before us, separated. Two souls united by love. Two souls who stand before the eyes of Oum. Two souls who have come together with the intent to become one. What say you?"

Remus fixed his eyes on Clover and said "Aye."

Clover smiled back at him and responded "Aye."

Tukson looked between the two of them and said "A hand for the sword and a hand for the heart."

Remus and Clover reached out one hand to touch the sword between them and reached out with the other to clasp their partner's hand.

Tukson smiled and turned slowly, surveying the assemblage.

"If anyone among us has any objections to this union, speak now, or forever may you be silent."

No one spoke up, and Tukson continued. He laid his own hands over theirs, the three of them grasping the sword together. Briefly, Tukson glowed, an auburn corona of Aura flaring around him. In response, Clover flared maroon, while Remus gained a dun coloured corona. Tukson removed his hands and his Aura subsided, but Remus and Clover remained connected, striations of their partner's colour flickering in each of their Auras, the two mixing together in concert.

"Then, let your souls become one. Now and forever, for there is no futility, even in death. You may now kiss."

Lily and the surrounding guests burst into applause as Remus and Clover became, _officially_ , husband and wife.

. . .

After the ceremony concluded, the celebration began. Tables were brought out and assembled, food and drink laid out, and guests mingled freely. Soon, music was blaring as guests formed an informal dance floor area, attendants pairing off or staying in large groups to dance.

Lily leaned against one of the columns of the pavilion, glass in hand. She smiled as Clover approached her and raised her drink.

"Congratulations are in order for the blushing bride. I can't think of a cuter bun-bun for it to happen to."

Clover buried her head in her hands and moaned.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

Lily grinned fiercely.

"Nope! Come on, let's dance. Show your boss some moves, bun-bun."

Sirius laughed as he watched Lily drag Clover onto the dance floor.

"You'd better watch it Moony, or Lily's gonna steal your wife away from you."

Remus snorted, furiously scratching one of his ears.

"Somehow, I doubt that. Neither of them are the type to do something like that. Unlike a certain other someone I could name."

Sirius clutched at his chest.

"Do you mean little old me? Egad, your words do me great injustice."

"I could've been talking about Qrow."

Sirius rolled his eyes good naturedly, and picked up a champagne glass.

"All jokes aside...it's good to see you like this, Remus. I always wanted you to find someone to settle down and be happy with...I know James felt the same way."

Remus' lips twisted upwards as he too picked up a glass, staring into its amber depths.

"To the Marauders?"

"To the Marauders."

Their glasses clinked together and they drank, a momentary calm lapsing over them in the heart of the festivities. Then, Sirius set his glass down, straightened his tie, and set out with a determined look in his eye.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Remus, I have a date to make."

Remus raised an eyebrow slightly then shrugged.

"Far be it from me to stop a friend of mine. Who did you have your eye on?"

Sirius grinned dervishly and jerked his head towards a certain blonde haired Academy professor.

Remus' eyebrow hiked higher.

"Goodwitch? You do realize you're going to get shot down harder than that one time you attempted to ask out Madam Hooch."

 **Thirty Two Months after arrival**

On an island to the north of Vale, a murder of Nevermores gathered. Their unblinking eyes stared down at the corpses of Beowolves and fellow Nevermores that littered the ground, black smoke rising off of their unnatural bodies. One of the Nevermore idly picked at a Beowolf corpse, opening up large holes in its disintegrating form.

Several hundred meters away, a man watched the Nevermores from the safety of an overhang. His hair was greying and dishevelled, and a manic gleam was present in his sole remaining natural eye; the other eye glowed with an artificial red light.

"Test batch number fourteen, Serum A267. Control has been excellent, all basic commands have been met and acted upon. Subjects designated NVM one through nine have all survived the process with minimal signs of mental deterioration. Subjects ten through fifteen have succumbed to savagery and were torn apart by drone fire. Beowolf control group were all eradicated as well, need to capture more of those. Pity, such potential. Serum A267 is showing much promise."

Jules Merlot scribbled with a stylus as he took down notes on his Scroll. His motions grew increasingly erratic as he kept writing.

"Twenty years Ozpin! Twenty years since you shut me down and threw me out! I tried to show you at the time, that they could be used, to create a better tomorrow. But they weren't ready, no, not yet. My children still needed time, and now, they have had time, and they are so close! So close to perfection! From monsters, I will create soldiers! From chaos, I will bring order! The false faces of the kingdom will be torn off, humanity rallied behind their former enemies as we set out to reclaim Remnant, together!"

Merlot giggled to himself, overtook with emotion, before he shook himself violently.

"Must stay focused. Not ready yet. But so close. So close."

The moon slowly rose over the island of the Grimm and the madman who sought to change them into weapons against their own kind.

* * *

 **I know some of you are going to hate the fragmentary nature of this chapter. I'm not sure how I feel about it either, but if I ever want to get to the good stuff (which is coming, I promise), I can't spend forever dallying around, building relationships and such.**

 **On the subject of Sirius flirting with Hooch; according to the wiki, Hooch is supposedly almost as old as Dumbledore; yet for the life of me, I cannot see it given her being played by a woman in her fifties in the first Harry Potter film. So either Madam Hooch is somewhat inhuman, or the wiki is just plain wrong.**

 **On the subject of the wedding; yeah, it's rushed. But I did try to not make it a standard Western church wedding. I integrated Aura into the process in as natural a manner as I could. Side note on that, the ceremony doesn't actually fully unlock a person's Aura if it is locked. It takes the energy from the person swearing the couple in and uses that to mix each person's Aura before it disperses. This is mostly symbolic, though it does form a VERY minor empathic bond. Sorry, no magical telepathy, partners just get a vague sense when their partner is in danger.**

 **Anyways...tell me whatcha think. Until next time. Hopefully it won't be** _ **six months**_ **until then *hahaha*dead**


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